The Forbidden Legend
by AlphaTheGriffin17
Summary: A legend, long since forgotten, of three sons that murdered their father. Forever stricken from the pages of history, cursed and sealed away. Something that was never intended to be found. But since when has that ever stopped Sauron? A Sauron and Brelyna adventure.
1. Starry Night in Solitude

**Starry Night in Solitude**

I couldn't help but smile a little, as Brelyna gazed up in awe of the city of Solitude from below. It was an awesome sight, seeing those large buildings standing atop the natural stone arch formation. Almost like the city itself had grown out of the rock of the cliff, overlooking the sea.

I remember that I too was astonished when I first saw it. That had been when I was attending the party at the Thalmor embassy, and I didn't stay in the city itself for very long. Just long enough to meet Delphine's contact, and to witness an execution. All in all, not a brilliant start.

Now this time, I hoped, I would be able to have a better look around, which would be even more pleasant with my girlfriend with me. I still got a warm feeling in my chest whenever I thought of her that way now. I'd never known anything like it before. I was glad to have her with me, and that she'd decided to come. I smiled broadly whenever I remembered she was too.

"So, Brelyna, do you regret your decision at all?"

"Not one bit," she replied, giving me that smile that made my heart race.

"Really?" I gave her a cheeky grin. "You don't regret leaving behind your studies, to go off with a dashing, handsome hero on a dangerous quest?"

"Dashing, handsome hero? Where? Behind you?"

"Hey! Say something else like that and I may just drop you back off at the College missy!"

"Relax, I'm only joking."

"So was I, but I'm better at it."

"That's debatable." She giggled and kissed me on the cheek. "I don't regret it, not one little bit."

"Neither do I," I said gratefully. "Now then, I think you'll find that Solitude is much more impressive on the inside than down here."

"Then let's go and have a look."

We rode our two horses up to the stables, where we left them in the care of the good people. I offered Brelyna my hand, which she took gently as she leapt down beside me. Her arm looping through mine, I led the way up the path, under the fine stone arch and up to the great gates of Solitude, where Roggvir had left them open for Ulfric Stormcloak. The guard there nodded as he recognised me, to which I gave a saluting wave.

I explained to my companion what I knew about the city. In the grand scheme of events known as the Civil War, it was under Imperial control. The first time I arrived here, I witnessed the execution of Roggvir, the man who left the city gates open for Ulfric, after he murdered the High King Torygg. The whole city had turned out to witness it, booing and jeering the man. The Empire had no room for traitors and rebels under its rule, even passive ones.

Apart from that, Solitude had a few unique locations. It had the Imperial recruiting office which, I steered well clear of, and was also home to the Temple of the Divines, the famous Bard's College and the majestic Blue Palace, home to Jarl Elisif the Fair, the widow of High King Torygg, and her court.

There was a pleasant glow to the city from the light of sundown as we entered. To the right was the chopping block, where I had been reminded what resistance against the Empire meant. It was strange when I remembered that I had almost shared the same fate as Torygg, though I had never comitted any crime. Unless telling a few bad jokes under Imperial rule was now punishable by death.

The stalls and markets were in the middle of closing, but that didn't stop Brelyna and myself from having a little look around first. We stopped off at the apothercary before it shut, to stock up on healing and magicka potions, before proceeding to have a wander around the great city.

I noticed that, in places, there were streamers hung up and the courtyard before the Temple of the Divines had benches and a pair of thrones set up in it. I mentioned to Brelyna that, apparantly, there was a big wedding going on for the Emperor's cousin. I'd met a few guests on the road as they were traveling to Solitude, laden with gifts for the happy couple. Most seemed to be just waiting for it to be over.

"Want to have a look inside?" I asked her, inclining my head to the Temple of the Divines.

"Why not?" I grinned at her, holding open the door for her.

I'd never been in the Temple of the Divines before, I didn't have the time on my first visit. I immediately felt like we had stepped into another world. Everything seemed to so peaceful in here, like I was in the company of the gods themselves. The glow of sunset streamed in through the windows, giving the place a very natural, welcoming feel, combined with the growing shrubs and flowers around the place.

Along the aisles of wooden benches, at the very end and where the sun was brightest, were stone plinths with various idols placed on them. Those, I guessed, were the different shrines to each of the gods. They certainly knew how to highlight them and how to make the mighty Aedra stand out.

A priestess approached us, inclining her head. "Blessings of the Eight Divines be upon you. I am Freir. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Your welcome is most gracious," I replied, returning her inclanation. There was a time and place for jokes and this wasn't it. "Thank you, but my companion and I are just visiting. We're new here."

"Very well," she said understandingly. "Welcome to Solitude, to both of you. Any and all are welcome here. Feel free to worship at any of the shrines, if you wish."

"We'll be sure to take the time to," Brelyna said. "Thank you again."

We walked up the aisles to the shrines, looking around at them all. Each one was different, assinged to each god. Some were the god's face in a star, others, like Julianos, were simply a pyramid. I hadn't noticed that she'd said 'eight' instead of 'nine', and that there was one of the shrines missing, in between Stendarr and Zenithar. Brelyna pointed this out, so I explained.

"This must be where Talos was," I said, looking at the empty plinth. "The Empire banned his worship in Skyrim, in accordance with the White-Gold Concordat with the Aldmeri Dominion. It's one of the reasons the Stormcloaks have rebelled against the Empire here."

"Yes well, I think you and I both know that the Thalmor have Skyrim's best interests at heart," she said sarcastically, referring to our once mutual enemy at the College, earning a chuckle from me. "It makes you almost sympathesize with the Stormcloak's cause."

"Almost?" I asked her.

"You saw what conditions were like for our people in Windhelm," she said bitterly. "Sure, they could help more, to earn better living places but it's no excuse. They make them live in slums and ignore the plights of all other races, other than Nords."

"I know what you mean," I agreed. "Add to that the Empire almost cut off my head, for no reason mind, and the fact they... you know..." She nodded, knowing what I was referring to. "Well, I don't have much reason to join either side in this war."

"Like Suvaris Atheron said, it's not our fight," she concluded.

I was rather glad that she sided with me in this and she understood my reasons why, mainly because we shared them. We stood in silence for a few minutes, siliently fuming about the Civil War and the two sides that were fighting it, before Brelyna spoke up again. Quietly of course, we were in a Temple

"This topic is making us both foul-tempered," she noted. "Want to have a look around the rest of Solitude?"

"Hold on a sec, I just want to do one thing..."I approached the Shrine of Mara, the goddess of love and compassion.

I knew just what to pray for. I knelt on on knee and bowed my head. In my head, I offered my wishes to her, that the love between Brelyna and I be a long and happy one, to last until, and beyond, the day that the dragons would be gone from this land. That we would be happy, caring and always looking out for each other.

While I did hold some worship for Azura, as did most Dunmer, that didn't stop me from praying to the Aedra. They at least were honest and good. Besides, I was incredibly wary of most of the other Daedra, especially the likes of Mehrunes Dagon and Molag-Bol. I wanted nothing to do with any of them.

"Done?" Brelyna asked as I stood up, and returned to her.

"Ready to go," I replied, smiling. She leaned up and kissed my cheek.

"If you prayed for what I think you did, that was sweet of you." She looped her arm back through mine and let me lead us off and out.

When we returned outside, I took us higher up the city, up past the huge manor houses and by the Bard's College. I guessed it was, due to some people standing outside, either singing or playing instruments, like drums, lutes and flutes. They were getting good and it was pleasant to listen to as we walked by.

It was quite humbling, seeing the colassal houses and buildings towering above us. It just reminded me as to how great we could be and what we could hope to accomplish, if we tried. Especially in the case of the Blue Palace, all of the architecture was magnificent. Too grand for my tastes though. I heard that there was a house up for sale, but even if I could, I wouldn't buy it. It seemed impractical to have so much room for one person.

"What can I say?" I shrugged to Brelyna as I said this, "I'm a man of simple tastes. Well, except in your case of course, my love."

"What do you mean?" she asked unsurely.

"Well, I still don't quite know how such a simple man was able to win the love of such a majestic, wonderful and enchanting lady such as yourself. For me, it's the equivalent of being chosen to be High King and Emperor on the same day."

She stopped and stared at me. For a moment, I dreaded that she had been offended by what I had said, or just thought it was the most ridiculous thing that she had ever heard. Then, she flung her arms around me and planted a kiss on my lips, her eyes shining as bright as the stars.

"Sometimes, _I _wonder I was able to win the love of the sweetest, most romantic man in all of Morrowind."

"Come on Brelyna," I mumbled, feeling my face grow hot, "don't make fun. I was being serious."

"So was I." She smiled in that way she did, gracing my lips with another kiss.

I relaxed into it, still quite unable to believe that this was actually happening to me. I expected to wake up at any second, from the wonderful dream that I was having, returning to my days of shyly smiling and staring at Brelyna at the College, still not quite understanding what it was I felt for her. It was simply too perfect to be real.

But it was real. This was actually happening. The most wonderful woman I had ever met was embracing me, kissing me. She didn't care what her family thought, what they would do. She had chosen to stay with me, travel by side and watch my back in battle. She loved me and I her.

"Hey! Get a room, you two!" We broke apart to see the guard yelling at us. We just laughed, linked arms again and walked off again.

"Clearly, that man is well versed in the romantic arts," I remarked to her.

"Indeed," she giggled. "How is it he's unspoken for? Shall we take him up on his advice and get a room for the night?"

"Actually, there's something I want to see first." I led her up a set of stairs near the castle by the Temple of the Divines, to the walls of the city, looking out across the land.

What awaited us was a spectacular view of the sparkling deep-blue sea, kissed with an orange glow as the sun descended from the sky. As it set beyond the horizon, the stars above began to shine against the colours of the night, a dark black mixed with a deep blue, with the twin moons hanging the sky. Outlines of the great mountains of Skyrim could be seen, outlined on the sky, like the teeth of some great beast. Fearsome, but still beautiful.

"Wow..." she gasped, "That's... breathtaking."

"Indeed it is," I replied, looking at her.

"Hmmm..."

"I wasn't talking about the view," I told her, winking.

"Oh you..." she sighed, relaxing into my embrace, kissing me on my cheek.

I placed my arm around Brelyna's shoulder, as she leaned aganst my shoulder. We watched the gradual transition from dusk to night, merely content to be in each other's company, in silience, watching this beautiful sight unfold. Before long, I heard Brelyna stifle a yawn and my own stomach grumble. Time, I thought, to get some food and rest. Rather reluctantly, we made our way down from the wall to the inn of the Winking Skeever.

Opening the door for her, we stepped into the warm and inviting atmosphere of the inn. The pleasant setting was added to by the orange glow of the fire, the nice touches of rustic furnishings and well-made carpets, and the enriching smell of lavender and cooking food. Though it was juxtaposed a little by the mounted animal heads on the walls. Well, to each his own I guess.

Brelyna left to find us a table, while I payed for our room for the night, along with a hot meal and some Alto Wine. It was certainly nice to be here at the inn now as a guest, rather than use it as a meeting place for a shady informant. It certainly seemed a lot more pleasant at least.

Handing over the money, I bought the bottle, chalices and bowels of beef stew over to Brelyna, who had removed her hood. She did her hair up in a formal fashion, with two short ponytails pointed upwards. She was running her hand over one of them, looking lost in her thoughts.

Before I could ask her about it, she beat me to it. "Why is this place called the 'Winking Skeever'?"

I blinked at the supposed randomness of the question. "Well, the owner once had a skeever for a pet... and it winked."

"Oh. That makes sense, I guess." She looked at me questioningly. "As a pet?"

"They were smaller back then, apparantly," I explained simply. That was what he had told me

"Oh. Interesting..." She resumed running her hand over her hair, looking distracted.

"Something wrong Brel?" I'd been trying to come up with a nickname for her, but shortening her name in anyway just sounded silly.

She raised an eyebrow at me. "No matter how many times you say that, it's not going to catch on... Ronny."

"Okay, okay," I said, flushing a little, "maybe we should just stick to our full names."

"I don't know," she teased, "I think your's is quite good."

"Are you serious? Who in their right mind would want to be called 'Ronny'? Sounds like a name for a silly double act."

"'Brel' doesn't sound much better. I think your's sounds cute."

"I beg to differ. At least I use the first part of your name." I let her giggle at my blushing, before returning to my original question. "So, what's wrong? Do you have something in your hair?"

"Well..." She ran her fingers back over her hair. "It was always my parents who made me do my hair like this. They wanted me to look prim and proper. I never really cared for it much, but I just got into a habit of doing it. I kept thinking they burst in on me at any second." A smile graced her lips. "But now, I think..."

She raised her hands to her head, undoing the bands that held her hair in place and letting it fall to her neck. She shook her head to let it out more, then checked her reflection. She smied satisfactorily, then turned to me winking a little.

Though it would be rude for me to say so, I didn't care for her other hairstyle. It didn't really suit her. This new one, simply and literally letting her hair down, was like a metaphor for her new sense of freedom, I felt. Plus, it did look a lot better.

"There, what do you think?"

"I'd say it's a definite improvement," I agreed, pouring some wine into her chalice. "You look wonderful, but you manage that no matter what your hairstyle is."

"Thank you, my sweet Sauron." She blushed a little, picking up a spoon. "Now, this stew looks delicious and it's getting cold."

I grabbed my own spoon, sipping my own stew. She was certainly right, it was delicious and it really helped to warm you up from the cold. It was the perfect thing to eat after a long day of adventuring and dragon-slaying.

I explained to Brelyna that I could cook a little. The best I could do was roast a lump of meat, and I wasn't much good at anything else. I tried to make stew at one point, but ended up with some kind of thick, bad-smelling sludge that my spoon got stuck in when I tried to eat some.

After she finished laughing at the image of this, she told me she was well versed in most of the culinary arts. To an extent anyway, she was still a master of the arcane arts regardless. Though she did warn me not to expect her to start cooking for me, that she would at least teach me a little better, so I could make something more edible.

"Fair enough, I would like to learn more." I agreed. "Just because you're because you're my girlfriend doesn't mean I want you to cook for me. It's not like we're married, or something..."

"Yes, sorry. I should know by now, you're not that kind of man." She laughed a little. "Bit early to be talking about marriage, isn't it?"

"Yeah..." I said, laughing a little nervously. "I didn't mean... I mean, I wasn't... well... you know..."

"It's okay, I know what you mean," she assured me gently, reaching across the table and taking my hand. "I know you weren't presuming anything. I'm happy as we are, for now. We'll see what the future holds."

Smiling gratefully at her, I returned to my stew, but that sent my thoughts in a whirl. I had heard in Skyrim how, because life was short and harsh, people got married as quickly as possible at the Temple of Mara in the city of Riften. All they had to do was wear an Amulet of Mara around their neck, find someone interested in them and that was that.

Did Brelyna expect me to marry her at some point? It seemed only like the sensible thing to do, provided nothing happened. I'd never really thought about settling down with anyone, starting a family. My mother told me not to rush into decisions like that. I had to know that the woman I married was one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, to raise my children with.

I decided not to dwell on it for now. Like Brelyna said, see what happens. We Dunmer lived significantly longer than Nords did, a maximum of eight hundred years, and I didn't want some kind of rushed marriage in Riften with Brelyna. We would wait and see what happened, but one day maybe... one day...

I happened to glance around the inn, then something caught my eye. A figure in a long, hooded robe was at the counter, bowed low in conversation with Corpulus Vinius. She, I think it was a she, handed him some gold, which he pocketed and gestured to show her to a room. As she followed, her movements were graceful, almost like a dancer and her feet barely made a sound.

I continued to watch until she disappeared up the stairs. I didn't know what it was, but I felt like I knew her somehow. She just felt familiar, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I don't think it was in a bad way either.

"Sauron? Sauron? Are you going to make a habit of staring at other women?" I snapped back to Brelyna. She didn't look angry, but worried. "What's wrong love? Did you think she looked suspicious?"

"Well, sort of." I told her about the weird feeling I got from her. "I don't know why, I just feel I do..."

"It's probably nothing," she dismissed. "Maybe you just felt wary because of how she dressed. I know I did. But, it's not our business."

"Yeah, you're right," I agreed. "It's nothing." I still couldn't quite shake it off, but I ignored it. Chances were I'd never see her again.

We finished off the remainder of our meal and drink. Tired from the travelling, our bellies full of stew and mead, we had Corpulus show us to our room. He led us up the stairs to the second floor, where the hooded figure had come up.

"So where you two off to after this? Staying in Solitude?" he asked us as we ascended.

"We'll be gone in the morning," I informed him. "We're exploring the ruins of Folgunther, just outside of Solitude."

"Yes, I know it." He unlocked the door and opened it. "Well, good luck to you with your exploring. Have a good rest. Need anything, just let me know."

"We will, thank you." Brelyna stepped in, followed by me and shutting the door.

It was a pleasant enough to look at, complete with a comfortable double bed. Nice of them to anticipate our needs. We gave each other our privacy, as we undressed for bed and climbed in together. Brelyna snuggled up to me, kissing me on my lips.

"Sleep well, my beautiful Brelyna," I wished her quietly.

"Good-night, Sauron." She rested her head and almost immdiately drifted off to sleep.

I wasn't too far behind, my eyelids growing heavy, my drowsiness increasing. As I fell into a peaceful sleep, my thoughts were still on that figure. Did I really know her? And why did I get the feeling that I would see her again?


	2. Folgunther

**Folgunther**

When the sun was rising in the east, on the new day in Skyrim, whilst everyone else was likely still asleep, Brelyna and I had already redressed in their robes and were about ready to leave. Good thing we were both early risers. Less people up meant less chance of being followed and ambushed. That may sound paranoid but... it could happen.

We slipped out, as quietly as we could so not to wake anyone else, grabbed a quick breakfast from one of the opening stalls and set back out towards the main gates of the city. Heading down to the stables, as the guards of the dayshift took over those who took the nights, we mounted our horses and I led us both out to our destination.

The early morning mist hung low above the swampy marshlands, as our horse's hooves crunched in the snow below. Tall trees towered on all sides, jagged rocks pointed skyward, like the teeth of some great, unseen beast. It was rather eeire, it being so silent and quiet. Almost as if something lay in wait, beyond what our eyes could see.

"Sauron, I think I see it." Brelyna pointed in the direction.

Yes, I could see it too. The stone structure, hung with moss and whithered with age, that could only be the entrance to an ancient tomb. Even after all of these years, it still looked impressive. Nords built their stuff to last, it seemed.

"Good eye," I remarked to her, as we approached. "Alright, now we just... hold on, what's this?"

I jumped off Arthur, tied him up to a nearby tree and strode across the snow to investigate. I was right. It was a campsite, just outside the entrance to the tomb. That couldn't be a coincidence.

"Oh no," Brelyna said, joining me. "You don't think someone's beaten us here, do you?"

"Only one way to find out. Let's have a look around here, they may have left something, some kind of clue," I instructed, approaching the remanants campfire.

"I'll check the tents." I heard her as she went to look.

I bent over the stone circle, feeling the remains of the burnt wood within. Still rather warm, they couldn't have been gone too long. They might have a chance of catching up to them, perhaps combining their efforts with ours.

Adventurers tended to vary on how friendly they were. Some were new, ready to accept any help they might get. Others were experienced, more hardened and wanted the glory of their adventure for themselves. I hoped that they would be in the former category.

I noticed something else as well, in the remains of the fire. Crispy pieces of parchment and leather, like someone had burnt a book, or several, in the campfire. Perhaps some strange, over-romanticised study of vampires, that weren't even close to accurate. It could happen.

"I've found something, look." I whipped my head up and joined her. "It seems to be a journal, someone called Daynas Valen," she told me, opening it and turning the pages.

"Anything interesting?" This would give us some information.

"Hold on... 'Ivory Claw traced...' 'voyage to Skyrim...' 'seek fortune...' 'three weeks to Solitude...'" Wow, quick reader, I thought to myself. "Here we go! An entry for yesterday. Have a look." I did so, peering over her shoulder:

_**27th of Sun's Dawn, 4E 201**_

_With the brute and his companions in tow, I led our brand across the marsh to Folgunthur, where we made camp for the night. Little has changed since my first expedition ten years ago. But this time, I have the claw. And I will have the amulet._

_I spent all night preparing a synopsis of my notes, in case some fragment of the tale or piece of ancient lore may be needed to bypass the wards within the tomb. Then I cast all my books and scrolls into the fire, and reduced my life's work to ashes. At long last, today is the day of reckoning. If I cannot have the amulet, no one will._

Well, at least I now knew what had been burnt in the fire. But I suddenly felt uneasy, even a little scared.

"Okay, that's worrying," I concluded. "He's after the amulet fragment and he doesn't sound like he has the best of intentions for it. We need to find him, and stop him getting it. He sounds like another Ancano waiting to happen."

"I agree. Daynas Valen..." she said, thoughtfully, "that sounds like a name from Morrowind..."

"Well, let's go and have a chat with our fellow Dunmer then." I gave her my widest grin and headed towards the temple entrance, leading the way inside.

"You really do take a strange joy out of this, don't you?" she asked, following me in.

"Of course! Who knows what we could find down here?" I turned back to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "That nagging feeling that you get, like you want to know what lies within, but also know you probably shouldn't? It's what I always get, the thrill of the adventure, of the discovery, of the danger. That's the best part, Brelyna, just heading inside and starting the discovery of something new."

She stared at me for a few seconds. "You are the strangest, perhaps the craziest, man I've ever met." She reached up to my hand and took it in hers. "But that's one of the things I love about you."

"I love you too." I planted a kiss on her cheek, turning about face. "Come on then, my faithful companion. Adventure awaits!"

"Right behind you, fearless leader." She laughed and followed me in.

The entrance was lit by the bright glow of nearby torches, illuminating the rather terrifying bird carvings that pointed the way within. This entrance arch was also decorated with various bones, attached to lengths of wire. Cheery welcome.

I immediately got that sense of forboding, a shiver up my spine that I always got when entering a new tomb to explore. A combined sense of fear and excitement. Far from making me want to turn back, it just made me more eager to continue.

Brelyna, I noticed, took some of her previous experience to heart. She had her eyes warily traveling around the environment, watching for any possible dangers or traps. While I was still concerned for her safety, I had faith that she could look after herself. That, and I was glad to have someone watching my back, especially a fellow mage.

The path led to a set of desceding stairs, below which I could see two more carvings like the ones here. There was also the unmistakable red shimmer of blood, inbetween them, as well as three corpses littered around it.

Carefully, we approached them, stepping slowly and keeping an eye out for trip systems. I found painted patterns on one stone, betraying the position of a pressure plate. I could just about guess what it did.

I motioned to Brelyna, showing her it. She nodded and stepped over it, as did I. The bodies, I could see now, were of two draugr and a man, Breton by the look of him, dressed in fur armour, still fiercely clutching his blade.

"One of Mr. Valen's band," I said, closing the man's eyes respectfully, praying his soul would find rest. "Looks like he died fighting these two. Or he stood on the trap. Or both."

"Dead men tell no tales," Brelyna quoted grimly. "There's nothing we can do for him..."

"I know... come on." I resumed our descent, brushing aside these thoughts of death.

I saw a familiar indentation, where I knew a dragon claw would fit and open the gate. The journal had mentioned an ivory claw. He wouldn't be able to access the rest of the tomb without it. We'd have to get it off him... somehow...

The room beyond had an altar set in the centre, with another claw keyhole set before it. Various items were placed upon, including a pick-axe and an empty soul gem. Around the room were symbol pillars for a puzzle, already set up correctly and the gate already open. Good, one less for us to do.

There was also another pair of dead draugr, plus one adventurer, this one a Bosmer, female. Again, she looked like she'd died fighting the draugr. Things didn't seem to be going well for Valen and his group.

Perhaps they were just ahead, close enough to be heard.

"Hello!" I called, my voice echoing off the walls. "Daynas Valen, are you there? We're here to help you!"

I waited, straining my ears to see if I could get a response. But there was nothing. No reply. I looked to Brelyna, who shrugged. At least no one could say we didn't try.

As we approached the passage, I discovered something _had _heard me. But it wasn't friendly, that much could be certain. The tell-tale snarl and the shuffling of bare feet gave it away.

"Draugr," I murmered to Brelyna. "Get ready..."

We would get it as it came around the corner. Then, I noticed the pressure plate and the scorching of the turning in the passage, as well as the burned body that lay there. It gave me an idea...

As the undead approached the corner, I stepped on the plate, feeling it sink beneath the ground. As it did, I was rewarded with a jet of flame from a screeching bird carving, that engulfed our would-be foe. I heard a loud screech as the flames scorched its flesh, before it sank and joined the other body. I coughed as a smell of burnt flesh reached my nose.

"Well..." I coughed, fanning away the smoke, "that worked."

"In a manner of speaking," Brelyna agreed, covering her nose and mouth. "How did you know what that trap would do?"

"Lucky guess." I looked to see she gave me a scrutinising stare. "What? It worked, didn't it?"

"True, true," she nodded, resorting to smile. "Let's keep moving, come on..."

Edging past the burnt corpse, we proceeded onwards. The passage led us to an arch, which opened up into a larger room. It contained a long table, the kind one might find in a royal dining hall, complete with goblets and plates. Stone coffins were situated around the area, some lying down, some leant against the wall.

As we walked in, a sudden feeling of unease came over me. I didn't know what it was, but something just didn't feel right. I stopped in my tracks, looking around slowly.

"Sauron, what is it?" Brelyna looked at me, concerned. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm not sure..." I thought for a few minutes. Then, it hit me. "I don't completely know, but I think we may have walked into a-"

I was cut off as the gate suddenly slammed shut behind us, sealing us in the room. No sooner had that happened, the coffin lids began to burst open, as their occupents kicked them open, climbing or stepping out of them. They drew ancient weapons, their rotted faces livid with malice.

"... a trap?" my companion finished, stepping close to me.

"Yes, one of those."

We whipped around, preparing to engage our foes in battle, side-by-side. There were a lot of them. I scanned the room for something, anything that could be of any help to us in our fight. Then, my eyes caught a familiar shimmer on the floor, near two of the draugr. A spill of oil...

"You two," I called, feeling that this was necessary. "You gentlemen look like you take yourselves too seriously. You need to lighten up!"

I flared a firebolt in my right hand, took careful aim and tossed it at the spill. The oil flared as it ignited on the flame's contact, causing it to light up the unfortunate undead. Literally. From what I could make out, at least four of them were caught in the inferno, writhing as the flames climbed up their bodies. At least our right flank was secure.

I then turned to engage those on our left, which consisted of three. I threw another bolt at one of them, striking it in the chest and sending it flying. I ran towards the closest one, pulled out my dagger, ducked under its clumsy blow and drove the point into its throat. I allowed it to remain, before I yanked it back out.

A flare of flame, a flash of light, told me my companion had triumphed over her own foe. I looked around to see that she had, standing over its burned body and ending a Flames spell, an atronach dancing beside her.

"Honestly, you and your ridiculous puns," she remarked, banishing her daedra and jumping over her mutilated foe. "'Lighten up'? Really?"

"Hey, you try and think of something better," I challenged. "Come on, the stairs are over here." I led her past the other vanquished draugr, to where I saw the way out. Or, at least, onwards.

"It wasn't much of a trap. I suppose we were just lucky somebody spilled all of that oil, it certainly ended the fight quicker."

"Isn't it lovely when things work out like that?" I asked rhetorically, with a smile. We walked up to the stairs, which were built atop a metal grate. I was about to proceed, when Brelyna stopped me.

"Wait a minute..." She stepped cautiously forward, placing a foot on the grate.

As soon as she did, the metal opened downward and into a pool of cold water. I could just make out, shimmering at the bottom, something that looked like either wooden or metal spikes. I looked to the right, pulled the lever I located there and let the floor return to its normal state.

I'd almost forgotten the crucial rule about dungeon exploration: never let your guard down. Until you were back outside, you weren't safe. Traps could be anywhere, enemies lurking unseen. Brelyna, I was thankful to see, had taken it to heart.

"Good eye again, my love," I noted. "Now, we get to stay dry and keep the same quantity of blood in our bodies."

"Isn't it lovely when things work out like that?" She giggled as she echoed me. "You lead, I'll follow."

We ascended the stairs beyond, following the route the platforms provided. Once we reached a wooden dead end, we found another gruesome sight: a Dunmer, dressed in black mage robes, mostly bald and completely dead. He lay before a dragon claw keyhole, which was smeared with his blood. The item in question was clutched in his hand.

Brelyna was the one who bent to examine him, as I stood back and let her. She checked his body, pulling a small journal from his robes, as well as wrenching the claw from his grip.

"I think that... we've found Mr Valen," she remarked, handing me the claw and proceeding to flick through his journal.

"Sorry," I murmered to his body, and examined the claw. It was made from ivory, with two eagles and a dragon carved onto the palm. Each one was made from a different material. We were going to need this on the path ahead.

"It's him," she confirmed. "Listen to this..." She read aloud:

_How to summarize a lifetime of research? So little of what I have learned matters now - the petty politics of ancient times, the age-long campaign to wipe out all mention of the Gauldur name._

_I know not what awaits us within Folgunthur, so here, then, is the truth of the tale, as best I have been able to piece it together._

_In the opening days of the First Era, the Archmage Gauldur was revered throughout the north. Wisdom, wealth, honor, and power were his, and even Ysgramor's heirs sought his counsel._

_Smother by his shadow, Gauldor's three sons grew cruel and resentful. They lusted after their father's power and prestige, and eventually Jyrik, the eldest, discovered its source: a mysterious amulet, from which he never parted. Together, they conspired to murder their father in his sleep and divide his amulet between them. And so it was done._

_Consumed by their newfound power, the brothers laid waste to the surrounding villages. So great was the carnage that the High King himself intervened, sending a company of battlemages led by the Archmage Geirmund to subdue the brothers. And after a devastating battle, the three fled the field._

_Mikrul, the youngest, was run to ground in Folgunthur, the ancient barows at the foot of Solitude. And though he fought for three days and nights, he was at last overcome and entombed there, his crypt sealed by an ivory claw._

_Geirmund pursued Jyrik to the shattered crypts of Saarthal, half-buried even then. Ten veteran wizards fell before Jyrik's elemental magic, but he could not overcome them all together. He too fell, and was sealed within the ruined city._

_And at last, Sigdis was cornered in the southernmost reaches of Skyrim. He challenged the Lord Geirmund to a duel, knowing his foe was honor-bound to accept. And they clashed in battle, matched strength for strength, and fell together on the field before Ivarstead. The High King ordered a tomb built for Geirmund on the lake which still bears his name and had Sigdis sealed within, forever guarded by the one who slew him._

_Gaulder himself was interred in a cave not far from where his tower once stood, in the place called Reachwater Rock. And when it was done, King Harald issued an edict: the name and deeds of Gauldor and his sons were to be expunged from every record, every chronicle. Under pain of death, no word of them was to be spoken, lest any try to recover the amulet that had been sealed at so great a cost._

_And so it was done. But a little survived the ages. Enough._

_Four thousand years have passed, and the tombs remain sealed. The fragments of The Gauldur Amulet lie within. Since the day I first heard the rumor, I have felt its power, calling to me, pulling at me. I will be the one to reclaim it, restore it, bear it out into the world once more. I must have it. I must!_

"I think we can conclude he wasn't looking for the fragments with the best of itentions," I said, once she was finished.

"Indeed. I suppose it's a good thing he was stopped here," she concurred, pulling out a map of Skyrim that was folded up in it. "Look, he marked the locations of the other pieces, and where they should be bought once recovered. We already have the one from Saarthal..."

"It looks like the last piece is in the place Geirmund was buried," I noted, looking at the map. "Somewhere near Riften, that's going to be a long ride..."

"That's assuming we manage to make it out with this piece," she reminded me, placing the journal in her bag.

"Where did this skepticism come from?" I asked, with a smile. "Come on Brelyna, have a little more faith."

"I'm just being realistic, seeing as how you refuse to be," she countered, returning the smile.

"Of course I do, being realistic is boring and deppressing." I placed the claw into the keypad, turning it to lower the bridge. "With you and me fighting together, what could possibly go wrong?"

The bridge had just descended, the snarls of draugr meeting us on the other side. They had barely drawn their weapons, before they were both blasted away by two firebolts from each of us.

"You make a valid point," my lover remarked. "Let's go and get it then." We proceeded onwards.

There were a few more obstacles ahead, mostly in the form of draugr that were easily disposed of. A puzzle operating on a system of levers had us stumped for a while, as we attempted to figure out the correct order we were supposed to pull them in, in order to open the gates to proceed. Brelyna was the one who came up with the solution, which seemed a lot more obvious for her. How had I managed before I met her.

There was also a rockfall, that triggered as we neared another door. We simply outran this and braced the door that we came through, to keep out the draugur we dashed passed. It ended up being crushed by the stones that hit it, from what we could tell. We then found ourselves in something of a throne room, with two entrances parallel to each other, and two draugr. Once they were dealt with, we set about trying to find a way to open up the grate in the floor.

This tomb was certainly one of the more devious that I had encountered, with plenty of traps and puzzles at every turn. With this particular one, its solution with a lever my companion discovered and more animal carvings.

"Hm." I examined the faces of the animals in the first room we walked into. I hatched on an idea. "Brelyna, you stay here. I want to try something." She nodded, trusting my judgement.

I pulled the lever which, sure enough, rotated the entrances around, sealing the one I had come through and opening the door on the left of me. I headed into this, seeing that this room housed rotating statues, with the same animals.

"Brelyna!" I shouted next door. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes, I can! Wait, hold on!" There was silence for a bit, the sound of spells being cast, then she came back. "Sorry, just dealing with some admirers!"

"Did you tell them you weren't interested?"

"In a manner of speaking!" I chuckled a little at this.

"Good, now!" I proceeded to the first statue. "Can you tell me the animal on the statue on your right?"

"What's this for?"

"You'll see! Now, the animal please!"

"Wait..." Silence again. "It's a snake!"

"Right!" I rotated the statue to the corresponding face. "Next one, then the one after!"

"Okay... a dolphin!" I matched it, and finally: "An eagle!"

"So, that's what that is," I murmered. I then left the room, pulled the lever on the other side and let Brelyna out. "Good work. Would you do the honors?" I gestured to the chain on the wall, which she gladly pulled.

The floor retracted, revealing a spiralling wooden stair. Satisfied that the puzzle had been solved, we took our steps down. It got darker as we descended, as well as wetter at the bottom, so I cast a Candlelight spell, to provide a little more illumination.

"Right, shouldn't be too far no-AGGGGGH!" The single glimpse I got caused me to be gripped with panic, tossing firebolts down the tunnel, not caring what they hit. When I'd stopped, the unpleasant smell of burnt spider filled my nostrils.

"You can face down a dragon..." Brelyna coughed a little, clearing smoke away, "but you panic when you see a frostbite spider?"

"What? They're hairy and big... all of those legs, the eyes too..." I felt a shudder, as well as my face turning red.

"Alright, alright... I'm just saying..." I could hear her suppress a giggle, as I edged past their smouldering bodies and lead on.

I did feel a little ashamed at my fear of the oversized arachnids. I'd faced them so many times, yet I still got the shivers when they came crawling out of the shadows at me. Everyone had something they were afraid of, I just couldn't help being scared of them. At least they could be killed...

Brelyna didn't seem to mind too much, at least I hoped she didn't. I think she at least understood why I was scared of the monsters. They generally weren't looked kindly upon, with good reason. If she did have issues with it, she didn't say anything. I was grateful for that.

I looked and noticed that the corridor we had walked into, which had the door to the main tomb at the far end, was lined on all sides by six stone coffins, three on either side. It was only when I reached the middle that I began to think this felt... wrong.

"Brelyna," I said, raising a hand to stop her, "don't be alarmed, but I think we've walked into another trap."

No sooner had I said this, then the lights all went out, leaving very little for us to see in the dark. One by one, the coffin lids were opened, slamming open as their occupants forced their way out. They had us surrounded.

"You know," I remarked, lighting my hands, "this is one of those times when I'm right and don't want to be."

"If it makes you feel any better, love, the feeling is mutual." I felt her back press against mine, providing the additional light of a summoned atronach.

We set our spells ablaze, lighting up the darkened corridor with flashes of magical fire. How could any decent adventurer even stand to use a sword and sheild, I ask you, especially in a situation like this? They had the advantage of darkness, but we had the advantage of magic

The fight was over in a minute, with only a few close calls and at least one scratch across the face for Brelyna. All six of the undead warriors lay smoking at our feet, as she applied a healing spell to herself.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," she assured, as the wound healed. "Now, let's get this door open..."

The door in question could only be opened by the corresponding dragon claw, with the symbols placed in the correct order. I rotated the ancient stone, so that it faced an eagle, another eagle and a dragon, in descending order. Dust seemed to pour from the cracks, as the stone gate slowly lowered to allow us entrance, after thousands of years...

The statue of the screeching bird seemed to be pointing us towards the set of giant wooden doors, that no doubt let to the Galuderson's resting place, and to the fragment we had come for. Cautiously, we heaved the doors open and stepped through, as they slammed behind us. Ascending the ancient stairs, we soon set foot in Folgunter's crypt.

"Wow... now, this is incredible," I whispered, gazing around.

The crypt itself was huge, with a high, cavernous ceiling, combining man-made architceture with the natural cave formations. The thick pillars seemed to grow out of the floor to the ceiling, the torches in them flickering our shadows against the walls. Coffins were packed into the place, lined almost everywhere in the tomb. Only one stood out, with a beam of light being shone onto it.

"Three guesses where the fragment is," I murmered. "Come on..."

"Hold on... isn't obvious this is another trap?"

"Yes."

"Is there anyway we can avoid it?"

"No."

"Are we just going to walk in and hope for the best?"

"Pretty much."

She sighed in defeat. "Alright... let's just be careful."

I approached the coffin with her, keeping my eyes fixed on it. Any second now, I could feel it. Come on Gaulderson, I thought to myself, watching the tomb. Wakey wakey, come out and face me...

As soon as we reached it, the lid was kicked open, to the surprise of neither of us. The draugr inside was clothed in ancient armor, a great horned helmet set atop his head. He drew a glowing, enchanted Nord sword, the amulet fragment glinting around his neck, which emitted a purple glow, as did his eyes. He seemed to snarl dersively at the two of us, like we weren't worth his time.

"At least there's just one of him," Brelyna noted.

"Not for long..." My suspicions were soon confirmed.

The sound of more coffins being opened came from behind us. Out of the shadows, even more undead warriors emerged. These however, didn't have the glowing green eyes the others did. Their's were purple, the same as the Galuderson and his amulet.

"They're thralls," Brelyna realised, at the same time as me. "He's controlling them, with the amulet. If we take him down..."

"... they all go down," I finished. I turned to face him, but he was stepping back, allowing two thralls to take the foreground. This wasn't going to be easy. "Split up! Divide their forces!"

She obeyed, running off to divert some of the draugr, summoning an atronach as she went. I turned to engage my foes, as I began to toss firebolts at them. Luckily, they were even weaker than standard draugr, if that was possible.

I felt the slight satisfaction, as I hit two without even aiming. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as I thought. Then, a sword whistled past my side, only just missing me. I whipped around to see their master, standing rather close. I tossed a couple of bolts at him, bith striking at his armor. He staggered a little, retreating back behind his thralls.

"Is that all you've got?" I yelled at him. "Don't leave now, we were getting along so well! FUS RO DAH!" The shout sent about five of them flying, as I put more ground between the remainder.

I was managing to hold them back, blasting them down with firebolts. Occasionally, the Gaulderson would attempt to attack while I was occupied with one of his little helpers, but I managed to fend him off, enough to make him retreat again.

It seemed, however, he preferred cowardly tactics. He was testing me, now and again 'checking up' on me, while he let his thralls soften me up, drain my energy. There was just no end to them, there was always more to replace the ones that fell.

Brelyna looked to be holding her own, the Gaulderson surprising her as well. The thralls were driving her back towards me, back in the centre of the room. We both tried to break through their ranks, but everytime there was a break in their numbers, the Galuderson would push us back until more arrived to take their place.

Eventually, we were both out of magicka and I had whipped out my dagger, with Brelyna resorting to her bow. These close quarters, however, were hardly ideal for the use of one and she was mostly missing her targets.

I had just yanked my dagger out of the chest of a thrall, when I felt a sharp pain in the back of my knee, enough to make me fall forward, followed by a blow to my head. My vision blurring, I turned to see the Gaulderson, leering down at me.

"Sauron, no!" Brelyna drove the arrow she had meant to fire into his shoulder. He snarled, back-handing her to the floor.

I tried to help, but two rotting hands grabbed my arms. I could Brelyna also being restrained by the thralls, as she tried to struggle free. The Galuderson revelled in his victory, giving a rasping laugh at the sight of us. Then, he faced me, sword in hand.

Perhaps I could Shout... no, I didn't have the energy... what else could I do? Maybe... I... I should have thought this through better... I could only watch as he raised the blade, to deliver the final blow...

_Whizz! Thunk!_

The sound of an arrow hitting a target caused me to look up. The Gaulderson was staggering around, clutching at an arrow embedded in his neck. No sooner had he pulled it out, two more followed in quick succession, one hitting his chest and one going straight into his right eye.

That was all it took. He swayed on the spot, then, fell to the ground in a dead heap. Simeltaneously, so did the thralls under his control, releasing myself and Brelyna from their grip.

"Sauron!" Brelyna was at my side in an instant, working a healing spell on my leg. I put my own energy into it, feeling the pain lessen. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine... now." I smiled gratefully at her. "That was brave, what you did there... thank you..."

"Always the tone of surprise." She gave me a warm smile, helping me to my feet. "That was far too close."

"Hard to argue with that. I take it those weren't your shots?" She confirmed this. "So... who...?"

"Look, there!" She pointed back the way we had come.

Standing at the entrance, crouched low, bow still in hand, was a cloaked figure in a hooded robe. I realised it was the same person from the Winking Skeever, at least I think it was. She now stood, and shouldered her weapon.

"Thank you, for your timely arrival," I called to her. "But... who are you?"

The figure said nothing. She began to stride up to us, still as graceful and still as quiet as before, her feet barely making a sound. I had my suspicions... until I saw something that hadn't been on display at the inn: a tail, furry and swinging behind her.

No... it couldn't be her... then, she pulled back her hood.

I gazed back into the face of a Khajiit. Her sleek fur was a silvery grey, with hints of brown splashed in places, like someone thought she could use more variety in colour. Gold rings glistened in her dark-coloured hair, as well as in her ears. Her eyes, however, were the most striking. They were of the brightes blue, shining a little in the darkness.

I felt utterly disbelieving. It _was _her.

"Hello, my brother," greeted Tash'arr, baring her fangs in a grin. "Long time, no see."

* * *

Tadaa! New character! I hope you are not disappointed my readers! I do this in favour for a good friend of mine, and I hope she enjoys it.

Do not fear, for the adventure continues next time! Farewell for now!


	3. On The Road Again

To my regular readers, I'm so sorry for how long its taken me to get back to this. I've been writing stories for MLP and they've just been more absorbing and time consuming. I also just wanted a break from Skyrim, but that doesn't excuse leaving this story unfinished and I'm very sorry to have kept you all waiting.

Now, for those of you who've actually been good enough to stay with me on this, here's another update for you. I'll be sure to get this story finished at least. As for otherstories surrounding Sauron, we'll have to wait and see. For now, enjoy!

**On The Road Again**

I still couldn't believe it was her, even as I wrapped my arms around her in a rib-cracking hug. Or as much as I could manage from my own physical strength. It felt like so long since I had seen her, yet here she was, saving us from almost certain doom, still as deadly and accurate with her bow than before.

The last time she and I had been together was when I was in my early days as the Dragonborn. I had just been sent to recover the Dragon Stone from the tomb of Bleak Falls Barrow, when I had met her escorting a Khajiit caravan outside of Whiterun. Partly to help me and from her own sense of adventure, she requested to let her assist me in my quest. What followed involved plenty of draugr, a giant frostbite spider and some other grisly details, after which we parted ways again.

Now, here she was, against all odds.

"It's so good to see you, Tash'arr," I said, muffled against her fur and leather clothes.

"As it is to see you, my brother," she replied, pulling back and giving me a pointed grin. "I see you keep getting yourself into trouble, as usual," she said, gesturing to the draugr corpses.

I cocked an eyebrow at her. "As I recall, dear sister, it was usually you who was the source of the trouble in our childhood."

"The details aren't important," she dismissed quickly. "As long as was here to rescue you in the nick of time, eh?"

"Indeed. Well, what are you doing here?" I asked her, still beaming at her arrival.

"Searching for you! The caravan I guard was camped outside Solitude and I had heard rumours of a dark elf that had been inside, that some said was the Dragonborn. So, I slipped into the city to see if I could pick up anything on where you went. Perhaps I would find you again, if I was lucky."

"So that was you I saw in the Winking Skeever!" I suddenly realised something and tilted my head at her. "Hold on, I thought Khajiit weren't allowed inside the major cities."

"When have rules ever stopped me from going where I please?" she asked slyly. "It's amazing how easy it is to slip past a guard when he's looking the other way, you know."

"You always did have a way with that," I noted with a chuckle. "So, you managed to get into Solitude and pay for a room?"

"Indeed, the innkeeper didn't seem to mind when I paid him a little extra, though I did manage to get a… refund later." Her eyes glinted with mischief at these words. "The following morning, he told me where you and your companion were travelling and I set off to find you."

"And here were are." I nodded and kept my smile. "It's good to see you again, it really is."

"As it is you." She held the gaze for a moment, a mutual understanding of siblings passing between us, then gestured to Brelyna. "Now, I don't believe you've introduced me."

We shared a knowing smile, before I recalled we had company, rather confused company at that. "Yes, you're right! Anyway, introductions. Tash'arr, I'd like you to meet Brelyna Maryon of House Telvanni."

"A female companion?" Tash'arr smiled slyly. "So, are you two…?"

I blushed a little at this, as did Brelyna, but I placed my arm around her and held her close regardless. "Yes, we are."

Impossibly, her grin widened even further. "Ha! I always knew you'd land someone someday, my brother. Though admittedly, I didn't think you could do it without my help."

"Your confidence in me is overwhelming," I muttered.

The Khajiit only smiled and held a hand to shake Brelyna's. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Maryon."

"Brelyna, this is Tash'arr Dredena, my adopted Khajiit sister and best friend."

"Yes, I was wondering about the details behind that," she remarked while shaking Tash'arr's hand. "It's good to meet you, Tash'arr. Thank you for saving us, your timing couldn't have been better."

"I try, Miss Maryon, I try."

Tash'arr scowled down at the body of the Gaulderson. "I never did like these disgusting creatures. They continue to walk, when their smell suggests they should be rotting in the earth. It's not right, not natural..."

"Believe me, the feeling is mutual." Brelyna exchanged a glance with me, to which I just shrugged.

Apart from the strangely depraved and necromancers (Who usually fell into the same category), nobody liked zombies, especially myself and Tash'arr. We were both agreed that necromancy was an unnatural, most vile form of magic and should be left well alone. Though she practiced Conjuration, I was glad Brelyna didn't practice it herself. Whether that was because she had no interest in it or because she hadn't considered it, I'd never asked. I was just relieved that she did and, if she had any of her own views on the magic, she kept it to herself.

She continued to glare at the corpse for a few moments, but smiled charmingly back at Brelyna again. "So, it looks as if you're trying your best to keep my brother's nose clean, at any rate."

"Like you say, I try." They both shared a laugh, which left me pleased they were at least getting along. "Yes, well, like I said, we're just lucky you came when you did. I believe the plan was to... wait, what was the plan, Sauron?"

She turned to me, with a playful look in her eyes and a mock glare on her face. A similar look was shared on the face of my adopted sister. I immediately felt my cheeks glow with humilation, as I recalled what had brought us to this point.

"Um... there was no plan," I mumbled, rubbing the back of my head uneasily.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"There was no plan," I repeated, still at a mumbling level though.

"You'll have to speak up, brother, my hearing is not as good as it was."

"I said there was no plan!" I yelled, knowing they were just trying to wind me up. "Apart from walking in here and seeing what happened, I had no plan to resolve the situation. That whole incident was my fault and we were just lucky my wonderful sister came along when she did. There, I said it!"

"Typical." Tash'arr shook her head exasperatedly. "He claims to be so responsible and level-headed, yet he is impaitient enough to simply rush in without a plan and hope everything just goes well."

"You too? Finally, someone who shares the pain."

"I feel the same way."

"Alright, alright, you've made your point," I finally said. "By Azura, I think would have preferred it if you were fighting."

"You don't mean that," Tash'arr remarked, with her cat grin.

"No I don't," I agreed. "Still, option's open if you want it."

"In all seriousness though," Brelyna began, "we should take more time to plan something like this in future. That was far too close for comfort for my liking, especially as you almost... died." She said the last word in such a way, that I felt incredibly ashamed of myself.

"You're right," I admitted. "I should have thought it through better, you didn't have to be put through that."

"So, we take better precautions in future?" she asked.

"Absolutely." She stood staring for a few moments, then embraced me in that way she did. "I love you, you know that?"

"I know, but it's still nice to hear." She smiled up at me and planted a kiss on my cheek. "I love you too... you big idiot."

"I'm not an idiot! I just don't really think things through very well."

"Which defines as an idiot."

"No, it just means I'm a bad planner."

"How is that any better?"

"It means I know how to plan, just not very well."

"Again, that's better how?"

"When you two are quite finished." Tash'arr was standing with her hands on her hips and frowning at us both. "Not that I would miss the opportunity to insult my dear brother, but the smell of rotting draugr is becoming unbearble."

"Yes, you're right," I agreed, realising myself the smell was quite bad and I screwed up my nose in disgust. "Come on ladies, let's go and get some fresh air."

"Brelyna, a moment please," she requested, beckoning her over. She glanced at me unsurely, to which I responded with a shrug.

Rolling her eyes, she crossed over to Tash'arr, who started speaking to her in a low voice. Knowing they wouldn't want me listening in on them, I idly tossed a firebolt around in my hand, watching as the flames danced between the palms of my hands,while the two of them had their discussion. I hoped it wasn't anything bad. At one point, I slipped up and burned myself, giving a yelp of pain and another blow to my dignity.

It was around about this point that the two of them were finished, both of them nodding at some kind of understanding. Brelyna crossed back over to my side, as Tash'arr offered to lead the way back out of the tomb. I gave her a quizzical look at the discussion they'd had.

"She was just talking on the subject of you," she said simply.

"And... what about me?"

"Well, she said that even though you can be a bit of a reckless, foolhardy idiot who makes terrible jokes, you still have a good heart and gentle nature, that I'm lucky to have you."

"I see," I remarked with a smile. "And do you agree with said statement?"

"For the most part." She returned the smile. "You can be a reckless idiot and your jokes are mostly awful."

"My jokes are fine, it's just your taste in humour doesn't match them."

"Perhaps, but I agree as well, I'm lucky to have you." She planted a kiss on my cheek, making the spot glow with warmth. "Just so long as you know you're lucky to have me."

"But of course," I agreed at once. "Anything else?"

"Only that if I ever break your heart or do you any wrong, she'd hunt me down and feed me to a nest of hungry skeever."

"... Ah..."

"That's what I thought."

"I don't think she means it?"

"Do you think so?"

"Of course." I let her settle and relax, before speaking again. "It would probably be more like a den of bears."

"Oh, good." A moment of silence. "Wait, hold on..."

I chuckled at her look of bewilderment and horror. "Come on, let's go." I continued to laugh in the tunnel, that turned into a cry of pain as Brelyna rapped me on the head with her grandfather's bow.

* * *

Riding on the back of Arthur, I rolled the two fragments of the Amulet of Gaulder we had collected so far in my hand, feeling the little bursts of power radiating from them in my fingertips. Individually, these fragments had substantial power and I could only imagine what their power would be like when they were brought back together and renewed. Once that was done, I would make sure that it would be put to good use on my ventures, not for the misdeeds and evil that the Gauldersons had committed when they possessed them in life. I just hoped no-one would try and kill me next for them…

Deciding to return my concentration to the road, I placed them back in my pouch and stirred Arthur onwards, staying close to Brelyna and the Khajiit we were now travelling with. They had been camped near Solitude, waiting for Tash'arr to return from her excursion to the tomb to find me. They were heading to Riften next, which was on the road to the resting place of the final fragment, so Tash'arr had suggested that we accompany them and follow us down into the tomb, to provide 'essential support'. Pleased that I would be travelling with more people to watch my back and my sister again, I accepted, providing additional escort for the caravan.

It was the same group of Khajiit she had been with last time when I met her outside Whiterun, after we had first parted ways. It was led by Ahkari, a decent enough Khajiit who had a nasty habit of getting into trouble in places she visited. I remember saying that I had to put up with things like that from Tash'arr from the day we'd met. She was accompanied by her scout Zaynabi and two other guards, Dro'marash and Kharjo, the latter being a little more friendly than the former. Something to do with his amulet being taken by bandits, if I remembered correctly, something I'd been meaning to ask into.

I was on relatively good terms with the group, as they had trust for Tash'arr who was a staunch guard of their group and through her it extended to me, along with the fact I had helped support them by buying a few wares. They were quite happy to see me again and when I introduced Brelyna, we made sure to leave out that she was a member of House Telvanni. As they had been strong supporters of slavery using their race, we decided it was best not to mention it. Like a river, some grudges ran deeper than others, I mused sadly.

"It is pleasing to see you once again, Sauron," purred Ahkari, as she travelled beside my horse. "We have been hearing of your exploits. You are making quite a reputation for yourself."

"Well, I do try to impress," I shrugged. "I hope you've been keeping well."

She sighed sadly. "The sun here is cold and the sands are harsh, as are the people that live in this land, but we survive as best we can. It is all we can do."

"I understand," I nodded. "It certainly isn't the warmest of places and only the toughest survive. Or the luckiest."

The well-dressed Khajiit purred in her throat from amusement. "Tash'arr has spoken much of you since our last encounter, she has missed you greatly."

"I've certainly missed her," I replied, smiling at her at the head of the group. "Have you been taking good care of her?"

She chuckled with amusement. "She takes good care of us. She is a master of a bow, lethal with her blades and as light as a cloud on her feet."

Just a few days ago, when we were being harassed by bandits, she managed to slip away unnoticed into the trees to find a position to shoot from. Ten of them and they barely even noticed as their friends were silently brought down by arrows. By the time they did, we easily overwhelmed the remainder and they ran." She let another laugh. "They certainly weren't so swaggering after that."

"I bet they weren't," I said, laughing a little. "Well, don't you worry about a thing. With us travelling alongside you, any bandit who dares attack us must be stupid, suicidal, insane or all of the above."

"I do not doubt that." She gave one last grin, and then moved closer to the middle, so she was protected by the two bulking frames of her guards.

Brelyna moved her own horse, Ethasi, to fill the space the Khajiit left. "It's good of them to let us travel with them."

"It's only because of Tash'arr, I have a feeling they wouldn't trust us otherwise," I noted to her.

"I suppose. Trust is a hard thing to come by here." She raised her head to look at me. "So, what's her story then? How did a native of Elsewyr come to be your foster sister?

"My father," I began, feeling a small bout of sadness at the memory of him. "He found her as a kit, an orphan from what was left of a group of slavers. He was always a compassionate man, never liked how we treated both them and the Argonians as slaves. So, he took pity on her and took her home. My mother wasn't too happy about it at first, didn't want to know what everyone else would think if we had one as part of our family. Eventually, she gave in and we took her in, though she wasn't happy about it."

She nodded in understanding, especially as a citizen of Morrowind herself "How did you take to her?"

"At first, I was scared of her. I thought she was a strange creature from Oblivion, even though my father tried to encourage me to be friendly. I avoided her for a long time, never said more than a few words of conversation and I thought she didn't like me much either. It wasn't until this boy in our neighbourhood, Deras, bullied me out of one of my favourite toys. I didn't think I would ever get it back…"

_"What's the matter?" mocked Deras, as he held it out of my reach. "Do you want your toy back, do you? Then jump for it, come on!"_

_"Give it back, it's mine!" I cried, trying desperately to jump for it, but he kept it out of my reach as he laughed._

_I didn't how long he tormented me with his high-pitched cruel laughter, or at what point I started to cry, but I knew I'd never be able to get it back from him. I was too weak to fight and my dad had said not to use magic on the kids, even though I really wanted to use it on Deras. Why did he have to be so mean?_

_I thought all hope was gone, until…_

_"Give it back to him," a low voice growled. _

_I turned to see that it was that weird cat girl that was living with us, striding towards Deras and placing herself in-between him and me. He seemed a little scared about this new arrival, but he sneered at her still._

_"What's the matter, Dredena? Can't fight me yourself, so you use a slave to instead?"_

_"I am no-one's slave and that is not yours to take," she growled dangerously. "So, give it back."_

_He sneered and spat at her. "Bug off cat, before I walk over you like the rug you are."_

_At that she tackled him, snarling and pushing him to the floor. I only stood back and watched, as he shoved her off again and ran away, screaming about being attacked. Before I could do anything, she grabbed my hand and pulled me away. They felt soft and fluffy, like the fur of any cat…_

_She pulled me into a narrow alley, the two of us panting from the effort. When I looked up and saw her panting, I didn't feel like I wanted to run away from her, not after what she'd just done. I didn't think that she was so scary or weird anymore. Maybe she wasn't as bad as I first thought…_

_"Thanks," I said when I got my breath back. "That was really brave what you did…"_

_She looked up, her pale blue eyes meeting my red ones and grinned. "He's just a bully and bullies are scared when you fight back."_

_"Yeah, he sure was." We both laughed at how he had run off screaming, before I felt my disappointment settle in. "But he still ran off with my toy… mummy made that boat for me…"_

_"The thing is when you do something big like attack someone, they tend not to notice anything else that's happening. Even if they're holding onto something, their grip can… lax a little." She held out her hand and I actually laughed when I saw it was the little boat my mum had made._

_"How did you do that?"_

_"Like I said, his grip lessened." She grinned even more and handed it to me. "I couldn't just let him steal it from you…"_

_I looked into her eyes again and saw something in them, like when someone's about to cry, like she understood a lot better than she was actually saying. It almost made me cry a bit, as she gave the boat back to me and diverted her gaze. I let a smile play on my lips, pocketed the boat and put a hand on her shoulder._

_"He was just lucky you didn't scratch him with your claws, that would have made him sorry." She laughed a little at my joke. "Hey, you wanna… come down to the river with me? This boat really floats you know."_

_At first, it looked like she couldn't believe what I'd just asked her. She looked back up at me, that sad shine in her eyes now replaced with a happy fire and shining with real tears now, as she took my hand and squeezed it, that warm fur brushing against my skin._

_"I'd like that." Then she got that mischievous look again. "Race you!" And she shot off like a rabbit._

_"Hey, not fair!" I sprinted after her, all of my past fears forgotten. Yeah, not so bad after all…_

"… we were best friends from that day forward." I chuckled at the memories. "Oh the trouble we got into, well the trouble she dragged me into usually. But she'd always have a way of somehow proving that she was completely innocent. Sometimes she stole, but it was just for fun and she always gave it back, or kept it if she felt they deserved it."

"An honest thief," remarked Brelyna. "What happened to you two then?"

"She ventured off with me when I left to further my magical education. She wanted to see more of the world and try and spend more time with her own people. We separated close to the border of Skyrim, where she took to using her skills to protect Khajiit caravans. At least it's a noble cause and she's not getting into too much trouble… or so she tells me."

"Well… she's a very unique person, but in a good way," said Brelyna. "Like you."

"Yes… I suppose so." A smile tugged at my lips again, as I watched her sway her head from side-to-side, listening for any threat posed to us.

We travelled on, encountering virtually no danger on our journey, for which I was very thankful. I supposed that my remark about attackers wasn't far from the truth. Occasionally, the Khajiit smelled something close by or I would hear the sound of rustling leaves or the breaking of a twig, but nothing actually came out and attacked us. Not that I couldn't handle it, but I simply didn't want to get back into the fight until we arrived at the tomb of Geirmund. I just wanted to enjoy the ride, listening to the birds and the rushing of the wind through the trees.

Along the way, I pointed out several noteworthy locations to Brelyna as we rode along. There were some small places, such as a bridge that I had cleared of an encampment of bandits who had tried to make me pay on their toll road. I'd never really learned the name of the place, I realised. There was Throat of the World the largest, most monstrous mountain in Skyrim and the holding place of High Hrothgar that we passed the foot of. Even if you craned your neck, you could never see the tip as it vanished into the clouds above. Truly breath-taking and awe-inspiring, to say the very least.

We also passed near Whiterun, the only place in Skyrim I called my home. Mainly because I'd already brought a house there but that was beside the point.

"That was where you fought and killed your first dragon?" she asked.

"Yes, at a watch tower near the city." I nodded in approval. "Good to see you're paying attention to what I say."

"Well, someone has to." She looked off in the direction of the city. "It looks beautiful…"

"It's even better close up," I told her. "We're going there once we're done with this amulet business."

"Wow, inviting a woman into your home when you've only known her for a few days." We both laughed at that. "I'm sure that your home is lovely and I'm… grateful you'd invite me to stay."

"Well of course I would. I wasn't just going to leave you alone in the cold, was I?"

"I know, but still…" She gazed up at me, that shining glow in her eyes. "You're a kind man, Sauron. I'm glad to know you."

"Me too…" How did I ever get on in Skyrim without her?

Further down the road, just as the sun was starting to lower in the sky, I pulled out my map and realised that we were getting close to where Geirmund's Hall was situated. I signalled this to Tash'arr, who said to the others she would link back up with them at Riften once she was done in the tomb. She then sprinted up to us, her teeth bared in a grin.

"So, off to adventure?" She looked up at me. "Now, it seems you are the one dragging me into trouble, dear brother."

"So you do admit that you were the troublemaker in our youth?"

"Perhaps," she shrugged. "Lead on then."

Glad to have her bow, knives and wits to join us in this, I kicked Arthur's sides and steered him towards the trees, to where I could see a large body of water glinting in the glow of the setting sun. Pity we don't have a boat, I thought, then we would just be able to float across…


	4. Geirmund's Hall

**Geirmund's Hall**

"Not much of a hall, is it?" I noted, looking around the moist walls of the cave we had entered.

"How do you mean?" asked Brelyna, banishing her atronach back to Oblivion.

"This place is called a Hall, but it doesn't look anything like a hall," I explained. "Not much of a hall, more of a… a hole. Or just a cave."

"Yes, well, I don't think that Geirmund's Hole sounds as grand as that, do you?" pointed out Tash'arr.

"I know, but still… it's rather misleading, it's all I'm saying." Neither of them responded to this, so we proceeded further in.

On the outside, the only distinguishing features of the tomb were a few standing stones outside of the cave where it was situated. The inside too was none too spectacular, at least compared to other tombs that I'd ventured inside. It only appeared to be a cave, mist floating eerily at its centre and various types of mushrooms used in alchemy sprouting from the corners, without even a distinguished door or entrance, like someone didn't even want it to be found. Considering that the Legend was stricken from official record that was probably the case. It was no Bleak Falls Barrow or tomb of Ysgramor that was for sure.

On entrance, the only immediate threat was a swarm of skeever, basically giant rats that lived the darker, danker places in Skyrim, as most rats generally do. On their own, they didn't pose much of a threat but the trouble was they were never alone and they carried debilitating diseases on their teeth which would catch if you were bitten. Luckily, the three of us were more than a match for them and they had been swiftly reduced to sliced and cooked meat before they could even sink their teeth into our flesh. Now were searching for a way into the tomb, as there didn't seem to be any doors.

"I think I've found it!" called Brelyna, after I checked a part that just seemed to be a dead end.

We joined her were the mist was suspended eerily, like it was marking out the deep hole in the rock, going straight down into a shimmering pool of water. Apart from the jagged sides of the pit, there was no way to climb down, no ladder or set of stairs.

"Well, this is slightly inconvenient," I remarked, bending down and checking the depth of the hole. "How do we get down?"

"Like this." Tash'arr sheathed her daggers and flexed her claws, tensing her body.

She then crossed to the edge of the pit and swung down onto the rocks that were sticking out, enough to provide a ledge to stand on. She continued in this manner, sliding and jumping down the jagged sides with little effort, thanks to the natural agility of her race. She made the climbing look more like a form of art, a skill which few could match her at. Once she reached the bottom, she jumped, swung on something and disappeared from view, but we heard her feet hit the rocky ground at the bottom.

"That… was impressive," said Brelyna.

"Show-off," I dismissed, but silently acknowledging my sister's climbing skills.

"Come on down!" she called out, her voice echoing off the stone. "I'm getting lonely down here!"

"On my way!" I called back, turning to Brelyna. "I'll go first, and then you come when I reach the bottom."

"If you say so." She watched as I lowered myself, slightly more clumsily, down onto the stone ledge. "Will you be all right?"

"Of course!" I assured with a grin. "How hard can it beeeeeeeeeee…!"

I screamed the last part as I slipped on the ledge and plummeted like a stone, landing with a hard splash in the icy cold water, drenching me from head to foot. I was surprised that my burning cheeks weren't enough to dry me off, as I staggered out of the water to where Tash'arr was laughing at the spectacle.

"Bit of trouble getting down, dear brother?" she asked in-between laughs.

"Oh, shut it." I flicked water in her face, making her hiss in displeasure and letting me have some payback.

"That fills me with confidence!" I heard Brelyna call out, as I proceeded to dry myself off with a spell. "Okay, I'm coming down…"

There were a few minutes of silence, probably trying to collect herself for the climb down. I heard her grunting with effort and her foot scraping against the stone. At first, I actually thought she might do better than I did, until with a scream of fright she too fell and hit the water with a splash, drenching me even further and making Tash'arr leap back to avoid getting wet. It would have been comical, had I not gotten wet again.

Her robes drenched and soaking, she climbed out of the water and glared at me through her wet hair. "Quite hard, as it happened."

"Yes, well… we got down, didn't we?" I pointed out, drying her as well as myself.

""I suppose. Thanks," she added to my gesture, combing her own spell and drying off in seconds, proceeding to do the same with me, Tash'arr still sniggering at us both.

We shared a look and nodded. "Let us never speak of this again."

"Agreed," she said, turning back to the drop. "Now, how do we get back up?"

"There'll be a way back," I shrugged, moving to open the iron door. "Come on, let's get go- AGGGH! SPIDERS, SPIDERS, SPIDERS!"

I jumped back from the door, dodging the poison they spat at me and tossing a few random firebolts into the nest, scrabbling around the corner and pressing my body against the rock. Panting, with my heart pounding against my chest, I saw Brelyna and Tash'arr look at me with incredulous expressions, share a look and shake their heads.

"He can be so ridiculous sometimes," sighed Brelyna.

"You know he even has trouble with regular spiders?" informed Tash'arr.

"He said he didn't have any problems with them."

"I'm sure that's what he told you."

"Hey, we all have fears! Spiders are mine!" I insisted, still feeling myself panic.

"Yes, but at least I don't run away like a frightened kit," remarked Tash'arr with a smile.

I cocked an eyebrow at her. "Really? What say I throw you in that pool of water and we'll see what happens?"

"Actually, you're right," she said quickly. "Everyone has something they're scared of but that's okay, never mind."

"You two are both ridiculous!" insisted Brelyna.

"Are we? Don't think you're innocent, I saw that look on your face when those skeever ran out at us," I said to her.

Her face flushed. "I'm not scared of skeever! They just… make me uneasy, that's all."

"That's called being scared, which is what you were."

"I am not scared of them!"

"Keep telling yourself that love."

"Okay, how about we all just keep our fears to ourselves?" proposed Tash'arr. "We have a fear, which is fine, but let's not argue. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Brelyna and I chorused again, the former saying in follow-up, "Now, can we get on with this?"

"Did I get any?" I asked tentatively.

Brelyna poked her head around the door, pulling back as poison flew past her head. "No, they're still there."

She prepared two firebolts in her hands, jumped around the door and let them both off. There were flashes of light, two high-pitched screeches, followed by the unpleasant smell of burning flesh. She nodded in satisfaction and turned to kneel next to me, a stern, serious expression on her face.

"I got them."

"Good."

"Using a calm, controlled approach."

"I noticed."

"Without panicking."

"So I see."

"You really need to control your fear for them better."

"I know…" I looked up and grinned. "But it was quite funny to watch though, wasn't it?"

Her eyes went wide, but she smiled regardless and giggled. "Yes, I suppose it was."

"Then my purpose is fulfilled." I glanced tentatively at the entrance. "Are you sure you got them?"

"They're gone and I won't mention this again, okay?"

"And I won't mention the skeever either." We both smiled and shared a swift kiss on the lips. "Having you around is so much more sensible than before."

"And having you around adds so much more humour." She paused and a smile touched her lips. "Well, sometimes at least."

"But most times?"

"If you're lucky."

"Oh, get a room you two," Tash'arr groaned. "We have raiding to do, so save the lovey-dovey stuff for later."

"Right you are." I bounded back up to my feet, eager to return to the quest now that the spiders were gone. "Onwards then ladies, let's not waste any more time."

We pushed through the sticky nest of the spiders as quickly as we could, while I took the time to kick their burned corpses as we passed. I really, really didn't like those things. A door which was locked would have been picked open in seconds by our Khajiit companion, but she had broken all of hers and hadn't stocked up since then.

So, we continued down the tunnel, where Brelyna ended up activating an unseen pressure plate. I heard the scraping stone and reached out, grabbed her sleeve and pulled her back, just in time to avoid the hail of poisonous darts that whizzed down the passage, bouncing off the walls with dull thuds. She blushed from the raised eyebrow that I gave her, but said nothing of the incident. I would have plenty of time to make fun of her for it later.

"Now, what's in here?" With an eager grin, Tash'arr opened up a chest that rested on a plinth nearby.

I heard a click of something as the lid was opened. "Watch it!"

Realising it, she leaped back with a hiss as a jet of flame emerged from a screeching eagle head next to it. Sometimes, even chests were rigged up to traps, those jet flames, poison darts or some kind of pendulum hanging from the ceiling. Fortunately, the only injury was a small singing of Tash'arr's tail, which she hurriedly put out, hissing and growling all of the while.

"Bit of trouble with traps, dear sister?" I asked her, allowing myself a laugh.

"I'm glad you can laugh, I almost got burned!" she hissed.

"And I got completely wet, so we're even." I only gave my widest grin, stepped over the pressure plate and led them down the stairs.

The room we entered was also partially flooded; the ankle-deep clear water providing a pleasant, shimmering glow to the stone walls that would otherwise look gloomy and depressing otherwise. Sometimes, even in the darkest and bleakest of places, there was an element of beauty to be found in them. The walls entering the room were decorated with carved stone animals, which matched the kind found on pillar puzzles that I frequently encountered in these places.

We were about to set to work trying to solve it, when there was a rustle of movement that made us all stand battle ready. Three draugr emerged from the shadows, drawing their ancient weapons from their sheaths, one with a two handed sword, the others armed with a one-handed axe and sword and looking to be spoiling for a fight.

I was about to let off a few firebolts, when I felt a furry hand being placed on my wrist. I turned to see Tash'arr, with that mischievous glint in her eye.

"Please, allow me Sauron. I could use the practice."

I considered this, then drew back and gestured. "Be my guest."

"Sauron, we can't just do nothing. We should help her," insisted Brelyna.

"Trust me; she can handle it, can't you?"

She inclined her head, and then turned to face her undead foes. The long-dead Nords, thinking they would be able to handle a single opponent armed only with daggers, stepped forward to meet her. One raised his axe and charged at her in a motion that would bring it down on her head, crack her skull in two. With lightning speed, Tash'arr's hands moved to her belt, unfastened her blades as the edge came down-

_CLANG!_

It met only the steel edge of a curved dagger, held in place by her strength. She smirked, then shoved against her foe, sending him reeling back and into the water. She twirled the knives around her fingers in a blur, standing with one held out before her, one above her head. Her ears were bent back, her teeth exposed in a sign of aggression.

"All right boys, let's dance!" she challenged, as they rushed her.

Two blades came down to meet her, but she blocked them both. One sped through the air to cut under her legs, but she jumped it while still blocking a counter blow from the axe wielder. Even with three of them working together to strike at her, she managed to fend them off and remain on the defensive. No matter where the draugr swung their weapons, she was always fast enough to parry and block them.

Soon, she went on the offensive. The two-handed sword came down, but she blocked it in an X formation, flinging her own blades out so his went awry, moving under his defence and slicing off the hand of one of her foes. He was unlucky enough to be wielding a two-handed weapon, which he could no longer lift with only one working hand. He tried, but the weight was too great and he collapsed into the water, grunting as he tried to lift his sword with his one remaining limb.

The other two were still going at her, trying to exploit any kind of chink in her technique. But there wasn't one, for while her weapons were smaller, she had the advantage of greater speed than her enemies, who had been rotting down here for centuries. She focused her efforts on the axe one, parrying another of his blows and swiftly bounding in before he could recover. She crossed the blades twice across his chest and once through his throat, kicking him to the floor, turning the water red with his blood.

The last one was met with another counter kick to the chest, sending him into the wall. He tried his best to block the Khajiit's attacks, but she was too quick for him. Performing a feint move, she made to attack his head, but changed to drive her blade into his unprotected side. He grunted and attempted to swing his blade at her neck, but she'd already driven her own dagger into the side of his skull. The draugr made a strange, gargling sound before sliding off and splashing into the water with his fellow.

Tash'arr twirled her blades again, turned back to us and bowed, flicking the blood off of them and sheathing them again with a flourish. Brelyna was staring in astonishment, whilst I nodded in acknowledgement of her exceptional skill with her blades. That was right before I flicked my hand and sent a casual firebolt at the remaining draugr, who was just starting to get back to his feet.

"You missed one," I said simply.

"Everyone's a critic," she groaned. "Now, let's try and solve this puzzle, shall we?" She bounded past us to check on the wall for the solution.

Brelyna was still staring wide-eyed and looked up at me. "Did she just…?"

"Yes, she did."

"Is she always so…?"

"Yes, she is."

She laughed and shook her head, admiring her knife work. "Precision blows and strikes, delivered with such speed… she is good."

"Don't let her hear you say that, her ego is big enough."

"I already did!" she called out. "Thank you, Brelyna, I aim to please."

"You're welcome!" Brelyna seemed confused by the look I gave her. "What?"

"Never mind," I sighed, "let's just get going."

There wasn't much else in the room, just a few urns and a soul gem which we didn't take, as neither Brelyna nor I were particularly adept at enchanting. The puzzle was easy enough to solve. The symbols on the left wall had to be matched with those on the left side of the cave and the same for the right side. After we had lined up eagle, dolphin, snake, dolphin, the cage door opened for us and we proceeded on.

We each took on a draugr that came to meet us from the next one and, not for the first time, I noticed they seemed to be getting tougher. This one, who should have gone down from the firebolt I sent at him, merely staggered, regained his footing and resumed our duel. Fortunately, he was still no match for me. I ducked under his blow, pulled out my own dagger and drove it into his chest. He snarled at me up close, I could feel his fetid breath on my face as he said something in Draconic.

"That's not very nice." I retorted by sending a firebolt right at his head, sending him flying off my dagger. I nodded and wiped the blood of before sheathing it.

We encountered a locked door at the top, the key for which was right next to the body of the Arch-Mage Geirmund, who lay on a cold stone slab before the door. Luckily, he wasn't moving around like his fellows. I took a moment to offer my respects to the battlemage, before taking the key and slotting it into the door, unlocking and opening it.

"AGH!" I was forced back as a frostbite spider jumped out from behind the door and onto me.

"Sauron! I'm coming!" I heard Brelyna cry out.

"Look out!" There was a snarl, a clashing of blades and I knew they wouldn't be able to help me.

I could feel its coarse, rough hairs rub against my flesh, irritating it as it pinned me to the floor. I felt the panic rage like a fire inside me, as I looked back into its many black, soulless eyes, saw its fangs dripping with deadly venom. These were clicking like a death rattle, as it tried to sink them into my flesh. I was so scared, screaming and trying desperately to push it off me, keep those horrible fangs away from my face.

"_You really need to control your fear for them better."_

Brelyna's words echoed in my ears. They gave me a new strength. She was right. If I could stand before draugr and dragons and still control my fear to prevent me from panicking, I could do the same with frostbite spiders. Controlling my fear as best as I could, trying to ignore and quell it until the battle was done, I raised the shaking palm of my hand, let the flames build and sent a firebolt into its hairy body.

With a screech it was dislodged, burning and scrabbling on its back, its many legs waving in the air. I rolled off my back, crawled over to it, pulled out my dagger and plunged it into the spider, silencing it for good. I would have just used magic, but doing that to it felt a lot more… personal, like I was taking something back.

"Just try that again," I growled, yanking it out and wiping off the blood.

I turned to look at my companions, who were standing over the body of a dead draugr, which had received a combination of slices and burns. Tash'arr raised her eyebrows in appreciation of my deed, whilst Brelyna only smiled proudly, not needing words to express what she was thinking. That made it feel even better.

Shoving the spider carcass with my foot, I proceeded to lead them along the next passage, which split off at an Arcane Enchanter. The one on the right was a dead end, so we followed up the one on the left, which led to a drawn-up wooden bridge with a lever next to it. Finding the solution to be laughably simple, I pulled it and waited for the bridge to descend.

"Wait!"

_SHINK!_

Tash'arr's warning came too late. Instead of lowering the bridge, the lever activated a trap of metal spears that shout out of the wall, right in front of my face. If I had been standing just a few centimetres forward, I might have been skewered…

I waited until they receded and turned to Tash'arr, a look of utter shock no doubt on my face, one that reflected Brelyna's. It was only then I noticed that our Khajiit ally was standing next to a lever on the wall at an angle that just kept it hidden, one which I hadn't even noticed, which was no doubt the point of the trap.

"Okay, I'll admit, that was a pretty good trap." I nodded to her. "Whenever you're ready."

"Hold on, I smell something…" She pulled out her bow and notched an arrow in. "There's a draugr, just on the platform ahead."

"Can you hit him?" asked Brelyna.

"Not from here." She glanced back at Brelyna, nodding to the lever. "If you wouldn't mind?"

"Of course." Brelyna crossed to it and stood ready.

Tash'arr nodded again and the mechanism was activated, the bridge lowering and revealing that was indeed a draugr with a bow of his own which was already strung and ready. He fired his arrow at Tash'arrs head, though she only moved it to the side to avoid it before responding in kind. The first got him at the base of the neck, the next right between his eyes. He crumpled to the floor, dropping his bow with a clatter. I let Tash'arr retrieve her arrows whilst I pulled the lever for the next bridge.

Two more of the zombies came out to meet me, both with swords drawn. I was about to fight them, when an arrow hit one in the chest, sending it reeling back. Brelyna was at my side, her grandfather's bow in her hand. I decided to let her deal with these two, it wasn't fair if Tash'arr and I had all the fun.

The other charged forward and swung her blade, which she leaped to the side to avoid. She then swung her bow at its head, knocking it hard and making it bend over. With a strong kick, she sent it flailing over the side, hitting the floor with a loud crack. The other had pulled the arrow out at this point and was already charging at her. Just as it reached her, I saw a green flash envelope her body as the blade swung down on her arm.

"NO!" But it was too late.

Brelyna cried out as the blade hit her, but this changed into a laugh. My own fear and shock was soon gone too and I couldn't help but laugh too. Instead of cutting through her flesh and bone, severing her arm, the blade simply bounced off with a dull thud, like it was made of wood. Or she was.

She danced around the next blow at her neck and sent a pair of firebolts into its back, sending the draugr to the floor. The following stream of flames cooked it and finished it off for good. She turned to me, wincing a little from her arm and I rushed forward to help. She pulled back the sleeve and showed me that it was just a bruise, but a nasty looking one at that.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." Her skin, which still had that green hue, thudded as she rapped it. "Oakflesh spell, I've been meaning to try it out for a while now."

I stared at her, then caught her in my arms in a firm but loving embrace. "Don't ever do that to me again."

"It's okay, I can take care of myself," she assured gently.

"I know but…" I trailed off, not even daring to think of the alternative.

"I understand." She pulled back and touched my chin gently. "I would feel the same way. I _do _feel the same way."

We shared a loving kiss for a few seconds, after which I gestured to her wound. "Do you want me to heal that?"

"I'll be fine, save it for later." She pulled her sleeve down again and smiled at me "It's sweet that you care. Thank you."

"You're welcome…" I stared into her ruby-red eyes, lost in their sheer depth and beauty. For a moment, I'd been so scared for her and, in a way; it had made us just that much closer.

"Aw, you two are so sweet." We whipped our heads at Tash'arr's voice, who had replaced her arrows and was grinning. "Don't stop on my account, carry on."

"I think we're fine," said Brelyna, breaking away and gesturing to the path ahead. "Shall we?"

Inclining my head, I took the lead again, pleased that the love of my life had made it through without serious injury. If she had died doing something like this, I don't know what I'd do without her. I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if, one day, we weren't so lucky and one of us… didn't come back. What would she do then? What would _I _do then? I pushed these thoughts aside for the moment and pushed on to the end.

It didn't take long to reach the final chamber. This too was partially flooded, with three platforms raised above the water with lit candles creating circles in each one, one I recognised as part of the dead end from the passage before. The wooden stairs led up to a stone coffin, one which no doubt held the amulet fragment… and the remaining Gaulderson. I suddenly realised why did he get a coffin and Geirmund, the hero, only got a stone slab?

I didn't have time to consider this as the coffin lid was kicked off as we approached it. A horn-helmeted, heavily armoured draugr emerged from the coffin, drawing an ancient sword and leering at us, a glowing stone hanging around his neck.

"Sigdis Gaulderson, I presume." I stepped up the stairs and flared my hands. "If you don't mind, I'll take that fragment off you now."

The draugr stared at us for a moment, gave a livid smile and promptly vanished in a flash of purple light the instant we tried to rush him. I could have sworn I heard him chuckle at us in his throat as he did.

"That coward!" Tasha'rr hissed. "Where is he?"

"There!" Brelyna pointed at a hum from behind us.

On each of the three platforms, there was a draugr that looked damned near identical to the Gaulderson. From this distance though, it was impossible to tell which one was the real one. At least two of them were drawing bows, so I sent a firebolt at one, destroying the copy instantly whilst Brelyna struck down the other. The last one had to be the real one, I thought preparing another bolt to send at him…

"FUS-RO-DAH!" The use of unrelenting force sent me staggering to the floor, along with my companions. By the time we recovered, he had vanished again.

We only had to wait a few seconds before he reappeared again, once again making copies of himself. Tash'arr and Brelyna took two of them out with arrows and magic, but we were again brought to the ground from the use of his shout, giving him enough time to teleport away again. The third time, one of the Sigdis's we hit was the real one, as he staggered from the firebolt I sent at him.

"That was him, now we can... damn, not again!" He vanished just as we prepared another attack.

We tried quickly to take out the copies, but he was just moving too fast for us to get a good shot at him, keeping us confused and annoyed.

"How are we supposed to hit him when we don't even know which one he is?" asked Brelyna, her eyes darting between platforms.

"We could always ask him nicely."

"Yes, I'm sure that will work perfectly dear."

"I have noticed something," Tash'arr said, her bow drawn and loaded. "Only Sigdis has horns on his helmet, while the copies do not."

"How did you notice?" asked Brelyna.

"We Khajiit are very observant." She notched her bow and raised it. "Now, keep an eye out for the one with horns."

The next time he appeared, I destroyed a copy, and then spotted the genuine article, just as she said. "Right, now you-AGH!"

I'd forgotten about the remaining copy, who had fired an arrow into my side. I could feel the pain as it hit spread from the wound. To add insult injury, Sigdis then sent me to the floor with another shout before vanishing again. I could feel the hands of my two companions as they moved me behind cover, Brelyna looking terrified.

"Sauron! Are you all right?"

"After being hit by an arrow?" I grunted. "Sure, just peachy thanks…"

"Be serious!" She examined the wound. "Okay, it doesn't look too bad, we just need to get it out of you.

"That will be rather difficult," pointed out Tash'arr, as two more arrows hit the wall, followed by the rush of another shout.

"I… I have an idea." I pointed to the platforms he materialised on. "Each one of us will stand on those and wait for him to appear. Then…"

"Give him all we've got, good plan," agreed Brelyna.

"You even finish each other's sentences?" Tash'arr shook her head, but still smiled. "Why don't you just propose and get it over with."

"Hey, can we save the jokes for… when I don't have an arrow sticking out of my flesh?"

"Now I know you're in trouble. Right then," she said, standing up and lifting me. "Do you need any help moving?"

"No I'll… I'll be fine," I said, dragging myself to one of the platforms, while the others rushed to their's. "Now… come out wherever you are."

We waited a few moments on our individual platforms, Brelyna and Tash'arr still looking at me with concern. I knew the arrow hadn't hit anything vital, but still hurt and I wanted this fight over and done with soon. I heard the familiar hum of his spell and turned to face either actual Sigdis or copy. As it turned out, it was the real one, who appeared quite surprised at my presence, trying to raise his sword to strike, but I beat him to the chase.

"My turn… FUS-RO-DAH!" The shout sent him flailing through the air, dropping his sword and smacking onto the wet cave floor, as I strode down to face him.

I strode over to him as best I could with my injury, just as he was scrabbling over to retrieve his weapon. I kicked it away from him, then kicked him back to the floor. I could have sworn that, even though he was a draugr, he looked… scared.

"You look cold, Sigdis," I remarked, flaring my hands. "I can soon change that."

Before he could do anything else, I sent a jet of flame burning over his whole body, making him screech in agony from the flames. Within seconds he was dead, falling to the floor in a crumpled heap, his flesh blackened and smoking.

"Good work, my brother!" called Tash'arr. "Not bad, for a cripple."

"Well done darling," echoed Brelyna. "Now, we have all of the pieces."

"Yes, we do and about time too."

I waited a few moments to make sure he wasn't moving again, then reached down and plucked the amulet fragment off his neck, placing it my pocket with the rest. I could feel them all vibrating against the leather, humming with power, like they were alive and rejoicing at being reunited. Magic could certainly be a strange and wondrous thing.

Now we had all the pieces of the amulet of Gaulder, from each of the sons of the ancient mage, their long-lost power ready to be reawkened. All that was left to do now was to put it back together. Somehow.


	5. A Moment's Reflection

**A Moment's Reflection**

Night had fallen by the time we made it back out of the tomb, a peaceful tranquillity descending over the land. The chirping tunes of crickets played in my ears, the constantly shifting colours of the lights shimmering in the sky above, along with the many stars that twinkled against the blanket of the night. Fireflies danced and played around us, their lights glinting off the stillness of the lake, that now and again broken by the movement of a fish below the surface.

I found myself lost in the scene before my eyes, its natural beauty and wonder. I felt like I could just sit here forever, just lose myself in the beauty of my surroundings. Until a pain shot up my side and I yelled out from the shock of it, snapping me out of my reverie.

"Ow… do you have to pull so hard?"

"It's the only way to get it out," insisted Brelyna, kneeling by my side. "Now hold still and don't be such a baby."

"Easy for you to say, you don't have an arrow sticking out of your side…"

"I had my injury to you know," she reminded me, indicating her arm.

"Yes, but do you have a wooden pointed shaft embedded into your flesh and bone that only seems to hurt the more you try to pull it out?"

There was a moment's silence. "Point taken, but I still need to get this out of you." She gripped the arrow again. "Now hold still, I think it's almost out."

"Well, that's comforti- AGGGH!"

I winced in pain again as Brelyna gave the arrow in my side another yank in an attempt to pull it out of my side. We had already acquitted the tomb of Geirmund, as a passage just north of Sigdis's coffin provided a way back out to the surface. We had made it through the tunnel with Brelyna supporting my side. I wanted to at least be back outside in the open air before removing the offending arrow. Tash'arr meanwhile was standing guard, her bow drawn and crouched low, tensed and ready for any danger that might rear its head.

As well as having the offending arrow in my side, another thing made me grieve somewhat. As we were leaving the tomb, she announced that she would be returning to protect the Khajiit caravan once we were done here. Admittedly, I knew that was what she wanted to do all along but the news was, actually hearing it, was enough to dishearten me still. Sure, she could be cocky and arrogant at times but… I was still going to miss her, especially as she and Brelyna had gotten along well. I couldn't help it, she was my sister after all. In a manner of speaking.

I felt another long shot of pain and cried out, feeling the arrow being wrenched out of my flesh, accompanied by a trickle of blood and a lingering burning in the spot where it had been. This was soon alleviated with the gentle warmth of a healing spell that Brelyna performed, closing wound to prevent the bleeding and at the same time cleaning it to prevent infection. I never understood how anyone could get along without magic.

"There we go," Brelyna said, tossing the arrow aside and helping me up again. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"For you, maybe," I retorted, but I gave her a grateful look anyway. "Thanks love."

She kissed my cheek and let me stand by myself. "Happy to do it, just be more mindful in future. I may not be able to pull out the next one you get."

"I'll bear that in mind," I nodded, moving my arm in a windmill to get the feeling back in them. "No permanent damage, thankfully."

"Physically perhaps, but I think there was some real mental damage," remarked Tash'arr. "Will you be all right?"

"This'll sting for a few days, but I'll recover. I've had other arrow shots, believe me and this one's rather minor."

Smiling in satisfaction, she dipped her head. "Then, all being well, I shall take my leave of you both."

"You sure you don't want to come with us?" asked Brelyna. "I really don't mind, I think it would be nice to have some extra company."

"Thank you for your kind offer, but I feel I still need to spend more time with my own kind." She gazed off in the direction of Riften. "Besides, I have grown fond of my entourage over the weeks and I wouldn't feel right leaving them."

"I understand," I said, recalling how hard it was for me to leave Winterhold and my other friends. I offered her a hand to shake. "Well, take care of yourself Tash'arr."

She looked at my hand, pulled me forward and embraced me affectionately. "_You _take care of yourself, Sauron. Make sure the next arrow that hits you isn't through your skull."

"If it does, I'm sure you'll hunt down the perpetrator and send him to Oblivion personally."

"That, I promise you." She pulled back and turned to Brelyna, bowing to her. "It was good to meet you, Brelyna Maryon of House Telvanni, to know that my brother is in good hands."

"I assure you, he is." She was a little surprised when Tash'arr gave her a hug too, but she relaxed into it. "It was wonderful meeting you too. You're just as good as your brother, but both just as crazy."

"We take pride in that," chuckled Tash'arr. "You look after him for me, until we meet again."

"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to him." She smiled fondly at me. "He's too important to me… to all of us."

"I wouldn't go that far." She stepped back and bowed once more. "May your road lead you both to warm sands." She was about to bound off when I suddenly remembered something.

"Wait!" I reached into my coin purse, counted out some Septims and handed them to her. "Here, that's double what you had to pay for our horses."

She stared at the money, apparently unable to believe what I was doing. I remembered vowing to myself when she left those horses outside the College that I would pay twice the amount next time I saw her and I fulfilled that debt now, even if it was only to myself. If you can't be honest with yourself, what can you be?

Still wide-eyed, she shook her head and tried to push it away. "I cannot accept this… that was just for you, to help you… I would have done it regardless."

"That may be true, but I would do the same for you." I pushed her hand away and placed the coins into it. "I insist."

Her eyes lingered on the coins for a few more moments, weighing up exactly what to do. Finally, she closed her fingers around them and put them in her own coin purse. She gazed up at me again and caught me in another hug.

"Just when I think I have you figured out…" Breaking away again, with a grin on her face, she repeated her bow. "Farewell, my brother, Miss Maryon. Until next time…"

Fast as a hare, light as a feather, she bounded away, sprinting across the land and out into the darkness, becoming one with the land as she ran. I watched the spot where she had sprinted even after she was long gone. Already, I was missing her, her quick wit and sharp comments, something I liked to think she picked up from me. I silently wished her well and was about to turn to Brelyna, when I noticed my coin purse felt just as heavy as before I emptied it.

When I checked, I realised that the coins I'd given to her had been put back with the others. She must have put them back when she gave me that hug. Then I remembered the moral code she went by. Whenever she stole, it was either for thrills or for punishment. She never stole from the poor, only the rich or the corrupt. If she was caught, she would always return it. But she never took anything from me. Never. I'd once asked her why, to which she'd only said, with that look in her eye she usually kept hidden:

"_I don't need to steal from you. You've already done enough for me."_

I looked back at where she had run off and felt a smile touch my lips. I considered trying to catch her, but there was no point. She'd always been faster than me and it wouldn't do any good anyway. She wouldn't take it. That was just how it was.

I felt a warm hand enclose around mine and looked to see Brelyna had joined me, matching my smile and looking off in the same direction. I squeezed hers in response and held her close by my side. At least she wasn't going anywhere, I thought, taking a small comfort from that. Yet… I felt clearly the fear that had gripped me, taken over me, when that sword came down and I was reminded even more of how much she meant to me, how much I cared for her. If something actually happened to her, because she'd been with me… I didn't know what I'd do.

Brelyna must have sensed my unease and stroked her fingers across my shoulders in a soothing way, to try and calm me. I was glad to say that it worked and I embraced her even more closely, feeling the warmth of her body, the beating of her heart against my chest, as we stood under the night sky of Skyrim, bathing her in starlight. How beautiful she was, both outside with her pale blue skin, her raven coloured hair and within, with how wonderful and caring she was. How lucky I was to have her.

"She's a remarkable person," she said gently. "You both are."

"But… me more so right?" I asked, giving her my signature smile.

"Perhaps, but I don't want you getting a big head," she pointed out, rapping my skull.

"Wouldn't want that, then how would I fit into a bed?"

She started looking off the same direction as I was. "I'm sure we'll see her again."

"Oh that you can guarantee," I assured. "The thing about Tash'arr is that she'll always pop up when you least expect her and she'll be found only when she wants to be."

"She's that good?"

"Oh yes… but I'm still the better one, just so you know."

She giggled and pressed her lips against mine, transferring that warmth, that love throughout my whole body. I'd never felt anything like when I was with her and took solace that, if I didn't have her around, if I didn't know her, my life would be just that more empty. I wondered how we must look, two lovers under Skyrim's twin moons, bathed in the light of both them and the northern lights above, shimmering when it the lake, whilst fireflies flew around us.

She still had her smile as she broke apart, the smile that reminded me why it was I fell in love with her: just seeing it was enough to alleviate all of my fears completely. I don't know how long we stayed like this, just holding each other in our arms before we decided that we should get some well-earned rest and some food. We redirected ourselves to our horses and galloped off into the night.

We made for the nearby village of Ivarstead, which was literally just over the hill, under the shadow of the mighty Throat of the World. There wasn't much there, just a farm, a few homes, an inn, a burial ground, a miller and the seven thousand steps up to the refuge of the Greybeards. This was something of a moment of déjà vu for me, for I had passed through the settlement in what now felt like an age ago to get up to High Hrothgar to begin my training as the Dragonborn.

I paid for our room at the Vilemyr Inn, along with some cooked beef, roasted salmon and a bottle of Alto Wine to replenish us and to celebrate our successes for the day, whilst Brelyna got us a table. I hadn't stayed for long in Ivarstead the last time I had been here, but they were clearly a superstitious bunch. Wilhelm, the innkeeper, warned me to stay away from Shroud Hearth Barrow, that it was haunted and it wasn't safe to go down there. Far from being scared, I was actually intrigued. Normally, I would have taken the opportunity to investigate, but we had other things to do and it was probably nothing. Of course, you could never be sure…

"Well, that was some fun we had today, wasn't it?" I asked her, handing her a plate of steaming food.

"Yes, if you consider being almost killed and being injured by undead Nords fun."

"Well, if was all safe ad cosy, it wouldn't be any fun." I sat down and poured her a goblet of wine. "Besides, if you don't enjoy it so much, you could always head back to the College. It's safe there, when ancient magical artefacts aren't threatening to destroy it."

"Don't I know it?" she laughed, that wonderful musical sound echoing in my ears. "I never said I didn't enjoy it, I just find it strange the things you consider to be fun."

"I'm a strange man Brelyna, get used to it."

"I'm trying to, but you hardly make it easy." She picked up her fork, but looked up at me again. "I'm proud of you, you know."

I looked back at her quizzically "For what? Getting an arrow stuck in my side? If that's the case, then I have obviously made many great achievements."

"No, I mean the way you dealt with that frostbite spider down in the Hall. You managed to do without panicking or screaming." She paused and considered. "Well, not too much."

"Hey! Those things still give the creeps, to say the least!"

"I know, I know, but I'm still proud of you for how you managed to handle it." She leaned over and kissed me across the table. "My way of saying well done, for both doing that and listening to me."

My own cheeks were now burning red, as was a proud sense of achievement and accomplishment inside me. "Wow… maybe I should do it more often then."

"Maybe you should." She giggled again and was about to start eating, until she looked up again. "So, how many times _have _you been hit by arrows then? And where else?"

I blushed again, this time more out of embarrassment, a familiar twinge coming from my backside. "I'd… rather not discuss that." I said nothing else and she left it at that.

The food and the wine were both delicious, refilling us with lost energy and also providing something of a reward for our efforts. Once we had eaten and drank, I pulled out my map of Skyrim, upon which I had marked the location of our final destination, Reachwater Rock, where somehow we would reform the Gaulder Amulet and make it whole again.

"Right, so," I started, placing my finger on the village. "From here, our closest and fastest route is through this mountain pass here. I came through it when I came here the first time, nothing too dangerous."

"But this goes right by Helgen, the place that dragon you saw attacked," she pointed out. "I would think that bandits might have come by to scavenge or moved in and made camp there, if not wild animals."

"What a lovely bunch they can be. If that's the case, they probably won't be too welcoming. We'll have to try and slip by unnoticed. If they spot us… well, we'll see if it'll be us or them that'll come off worse."

"Indeed. It's all the way in the Reach," remarked Brelyna, pointing to it and sounding a little worried.

"Is that a problem?" I asked.

She raised an eyebrow in my direction. "So, it seems I know something you don't then."

"Well, no-one's perfect," I shrugged, and then added, "Except for you, of course."

"Aw, that's sweet of you to say so," she said, with a red tint to her cheeks.

"I try." I let her giggle before returning to the subject. "So, what's so bad about the Reach?"

She pointed to the crest of a ram's skull in the far west of the map. "It's Skyrim's highlands, the most mountainous area in the land. That's the capital city of the hold, Markarth. From what I hear, it was converted from an old dwarven city, made entirely from stone and metal."

"Well, they'll be well equipped against a dragon attack if there's nothing to burn down."

"True enough, but apparently dragons are the least of their problems." Her expression became grim. "There's quite a bit of conflict going on between the local Nords and a tribe called the Forsworn."

"Forsworn?"

"A group of Bretons, also called the Witchmen of High Rock because of their use of magic. They're remnants of a conflict between them and the Nords, stretches back decades, ever since Stormcloak drove them from their ruling lands and homes. It's close to their border and they believe the land is theirs and theirs alone and they're more than willing to try and reclaim it by force."

"Ah," I said in acknowledgement. "I don't suppose there's any chance they'd take kindly to us?"

"I'm afraid not. They're the reason it's considered the most dangerous hold in the Reach by most Nords, only for the most brave adventurers and mercenaries. They're pretty much like bandits, they'll attack anyone that's not one of them, only that they're more dangerous from their use of magic. It's rumoured that they revere Hagravens too and if they're on their side…"

"Hagravens…" I paused for a moment of thought. "I've never fought one before, but they're apparently as pleasant as a draugr woken up on the wrong side of the crypt. They use magic too, so with them, combined with these Forsworn… we'd best steer clear."

"I agree." Her grim expression returned to a smile. "But still, if we do encounter them…"

"… then we'll show them that no-one messes with Sauron Dredena and Brelyna Maryon!" I finished with a grin. "I love having you around Brelyna!"

"I try," she echoed, just making me smile wider.

"Maybe we should have a motto," I suggested.

"Motto?"

"Of course, all great adventurers have mottoes."

"Like who?" she asked skeptically.

"Um... well there's... none that I can name off the top of my head... but," I recovered quickly, "we should have one. Why not?"

She sighed, but still smiled. "Alright fine." She bowed her head to think. "How about... all for one and one for all?"

"No, that sounds silly. Who'd have a motto like that? I'm thinking... onwards and upwards?"

"That's not exactly much better."

"I think it sounds pretty good."

"You think everything you say is pretty good!"

"Fine, fine. Give me one more try?" She nodded, rolling her eyes and I stopped to think again.

It had to to be something good that would inspire us in whatever we did, something that encompassed us both, our uniqueness, in both our characters and in our abilities. After all, we both had unusual or interesting backgrounds to say the least. Finally I came up with something I thought was perfect."

"What about... alone from the rest, together the best, no contest?"

Brelyna smirked for a moment, but then nodded seriously. "I like it. Easy to remember and I can see the elements of you and me."

"Excellent! Then our motto is decided!"

"I still think it's sounds silly."

"There's just no pleasing you," I said exasperatedly. "You know, I feel like having a bit of music."

"Me too. Hold on." She signaled a woman who was sweeping the floors. "Excuse me, I heard that you play the lute."

"Yes, milady," she affirmed. "It's five gold, if you would like a tune."

"Certainly." I handed her the gold, after which she retrieved her instrument.

As she played out the gentle, soothing notes, I leaned in closer to Brelyna, allowing her to rest against me and placed my arms around her, feeling her chest rise and fall with her calm breathing. I decided not to worry about what we were to face tomorrow. With the presence of my lover, the effect of the food and the sounds of that wonderful lute, I would certainly be sleeping easier tonight.


	6. Reachwater Rock

**Reachwater Rock**

This was one of those times when I was glad that I was a mage, trained in destruction magic at least. The mountain pass was just as bitingly cold as I remembered it to be on my first trip through and just as hostile looking, with the tall jagged rocks that lined the passage on either side of the road, concealing Azura knows what in their crevices and hideaways. Fortunately, I was able to keep my hands warm with magical fire flickering on them, otherwise they probably would have blackened and dropped off long ago.

There wasn't a lot in the passage, just a shack and a cave further along, neither of which we stopped to explore. Because of the hour of which we had risen and the general reputation of the area, we didn't see a lot of people on our way through the pass. The only living beings we did come across were a pack of wolves, which we easily managed to drive off with our magic. There was also a Stormcloak camp at the end of the passage, though they only acknowledged us with curt nods, suspicious glares or urges to move along.

I got that strong sense of déjà vu again when we reached the road that would take us down to where the village of Helgen had once been. The last time I had been on this road, I had only just woken up after being knocked hard on the head, with my hands tied, my horse and supplies gone and being carted off by Imperial soldiers to have my head lopped off as a rebel. Not exactly fond memories, but they had just been the beginning of when my life truly changed. Whether or not it was for the better, I had yet to decide.

It was because of these memories that I lingered for a while outside the gates into the town, just staring at them, lost in thought. When those gates opened, that had been the start of it, the opening to my new life when, ironically, I thought that had been the end of it. I recalled the people who came out of their homes to watch the rebels being taken to the block, myself included. What was going through their heads when they saw me? I remembered the horse thief from Rorikstead, who had tried to run and was shot for his trouble. If I had tried to run, like I had been initially thinking, it could have easily been me too…

I could make out over the top of the wall the remains of people's homes, the ruins of the Imperial encampment there. Just when I was next, about to be sent to the lands of my ancestors, he had come on the wind. Alduin, Bane of Kings, Devourer of Souls and my enemy. Again, it was strange how ironic fate could be. I could still hear his roar, feel the fetid heat of his flames, the screams and cries of all of those who were unfortunate enough to get in his way, who tried to fight him and were cut down like wheat. Devoured and burned…

All the people who had lived here… they'd all had hopes, dreams, wishes and goals to fulfil, now never to be fulfilled. Children, who now would never grow old, become warriors, farmers, scholars, whoever they chose to be. All of those lives, families, brothers, sisters, lovers. All of that had burned in the intensity of Alduin's rage, silenced by his Thu'um. All while I had lived, so I could face him again. Though I may not like it, may not want it that was my duty, my destiny, so see that no others would suffer the same fate… if I could.

"Sauron? Are you okay?" It was Brelyna's voice that brought me out of my thoughts, gazing at me with concern shining in her eyes.

I tried my best to smile. "I'm always okay." Even I could hear the quiver in my voice from holding back tears.

I bowed my head to try and hide them, like I didn't want her to see me like this. I was supposed to be strong, fearless, laughing in the face of danger. Some hero of legend I am, barely able to swing a sword, unable to face a spider without screaming, not even able to keep my emotions in check.

I felt her hand on my shoulder. "I understand. This is hard for you, believe me I know. But you can do it, if anyone can. You're not alone anymore… I'm here."

Yes, that was what made all the difference. Despite all of the danger, the trials that would lie ahead, she alone had chosen to brave them with me, this wonderful woman to whom my heart belonged. She understood better than most what it was I had to face, what I had to deal with and she had chosen to share that burden with me. Watching my back, always at my side, giving me strength where my own had failed. Brelyna Maryon of House Telvanni, my companion and refuge. If she believed in me… so would I.

"Yes… you are." I looked back up at her and gripped her hand. "And you don't know how grateful I am that you are."

"I chose it, never forget that." She glanced at the gates. "Do you want a few more minutes?"

"I'm fine now, but… thanks." I sniffed and wiped away my tears. "There, wouldn't want those freezing to my face, eh?"

"I suppose not," she murmered, with a small smile. "You're a brave man, Sauron, one of the bravest I've met."

"A bravery which you match just as well." Her face glowed at this comment, but she said nothing. I hopped off Arthur and took his reins. "We'd best go on foot around the wall, quietly as we can."

"Right, good idea. Quite unlike you."

"Well, I do have my moments."

"Rare though they are."

"Which just makes them all the more special when they happen."

"Quite so." I loved being able to banter with her so easily, I thought to myself, as she leaped off her own horse. "Lead on."

We could hear the low voices of the bandits as we slipped around the wall, talking to themselves or each other about the horrible things that they had done, possessions they'd stolen or people they'd killed. My blood was boiling at the injustice of their actions and I wanted nothing more than to burst through the wooden doors and clear them out with a combination of magic and shouting. However, I quelled my rage as best I could, knowing that would be foolish and quietly guided Arthur around the fence, for even he had fallen silent. Once we were past, we jumped back on and galloped off before they knew what happened.

The sun moved slowly across the sky, bathing us in its warm glow, as we made around the vast expanse of lake Ilinalta in the hold of Falkreath. The clear crystal water showed a perfect mirror image of the sky and land above, shimmering as the rays of the morning sun shone across the surface. It was rather tempting to jump in and take a swim in the lake, forget all of my cares and worries, but I restrained myself once more. For one thing, we had work to do and for another I didn't want to be on the receiving end of a slaughterfish's teeth. But still, the very thought meant I was in a better mood than before.

At first, I thought the weather was rather strange in contrast to what we were about to do. These thoughts were soon gone, however, when the mist suddenly became heavier, the land became rockier and more hostile and I knew we had entered the hold of the Reach. The most dangerous and feared hold in all of Skyrim. It certainly didn't look very friendly, with there being much colder, grey stone than lush green bushes and tall trees of forests, combined with an eerie, oppressive silence that pressed in on us. At least we weren't going to be staying long, I thought, as I became on a state of higher alert for any sign of the Forsworn or something worse.

The sound of a waterfall soon filled my ears as we crossed over the bridge of a small river and I checked the map to see that we had reached our destination. We tied up our horses nearby, set up spells to prevent them from being stolen, split up to cover more ground and began to search for a way into Reachwater Rock. There didn't, however, look to be any kind of entrance, no cave mouth or creepy door in the area. Nothing was giving it away, like they didn't want it to be found. All things considered, that was most likely the case.

"Find anything?" I asked Brelyna, when we reconvened after about half an hour of searching.

"Nothing," she reported. "You?"

"I had about as much luck as finding a live skeever in a frostbite spider nest."

"So… nothing?"

"Didn't I just say that?"

She sighed and leaned against the bridge, looking down into the raging waters below. "They really didn't want to make this last one easy for us, did they?"

"Well, the legend was stricken from history, so that's understandable." I shook my head and bowed my head. "You'd think that they'd have something to Reachwater Rock away though, some kind of landmark."

"Hm," Brelyna agreed thoughtfully.

"I mean something, anything to give it away. A signpost, a secret hidden message, anything."

"You'd think…"

"All other tombs I've been to they've been obvious, right in front me in a big hole or cliff side, like they're saying to adventurers 'hey, here's my tomb. Please come and raid.'"

"I see…"

"This though, this is just really frustrating. We're so close to reforming the amulet and we can't even find the Azura-dmaned place. After all we've been through to find these fragments, getting hurt and shot and it may all be for nothing if we can't even find where we're supposed to fix it. Don't you find that frustrating Brelyna?" There was no reply from her. "Brelyna?"

I looked up to see that she had vanished. Looking around, I couldn't see her in the immediate area. I was getting worried and was about to start calling her name when she called mine and I saw her standing at the mid-point of the waterfall, her clothes soaking and a smile on her face, furiously beckoning for me to join her.

When I did, she gestured to the wall of water before me. I was a little confused and raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes, it's a waterfall. What of it?"

"Yes, but that's not all there is," she said, still gesturing towards the fall.

"I… don't follow," I admitted, thoroughly confused.

She groaned and slapped her forehead. "It's not the waterfall, but what it conceals!"

"What do you…?" I squinted closely and could make out there was no rock behind the waterfall, but the opening of a cave. "Wait… you're not saying…?"

"We got there in the end. I mean, when you think about it 'Reach_water _Rock'… rather obvious really."

"Yes… yes it is!" I beamed at her and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Brelyna, you're a genius!"

"High praise, I'm sure," she quipped. "Come on, let's get this finished."

"Right you are." I paused before the fall. "Why is it we seem to keep getting wet with this quest?"

"I'm not going to answer that," Brelyna replied, as I could make out a red flush to her cheeks as she bowed her head and entered. I did too when I realised what she meant and followed her in, the cold water biting into my skin.

The dirt path led us up to a natural platform above the pool of water at the centre of the cave. Upon this platform was a tree, an epitaph warning against entry into the tomb and its occupants should rest in peace and the body of a dead adventurer. He was dressed in iron armour and was gripping an emerald dragon claw in his cold hand.

Giving him a blessing of the dead, as I always did when I found others like this, I wrested the claw from his firm grip and approached the great stone door that stood atop the ramp. I glanced at Brelyna, who nodded. It was time to put this legend to rest. I rotated the symbols so that they matched those on the palm of the claw, pressed it into the holes for the claws and turned the lock with a grinding of stone.

A cloud of dust escaped through the cracks as the door slowly descended, revealing the opening. We proceeded slowly forward as other doors along the way descended one at a time, one after the other with the same echoing grinding of stone, like they'd gone to every measure to keep grave robbers out. Or the dead inside. Our own footsteps echoed too against the walls, making our way down the stairs to the crypt, where the body of the mage Gaulder was being kept. It didn't take long for us to find it.

It was large, grand, almost like the hall of a king, befitting the great mage who had lost his life to betrayal and spite. Great columns lined the room on either side, now cracked with age and lined with roots and moss, much like the walls that encircled it. The stairs led down to a space in the centre, where the mist created a strange barrier between the air and the floor, surrounded by many different stone coffins. At the end was another coffin, an altar placed before it, set upon with three separate panels. One for each piece, like this had been expected.

"I don't like where this is going," voiced Brelyna, as I pulled them out.

"Neither do I, but what choice do we have?"

"There's a choice. We could leave, hide them away somewhere and never speak of it again. No-one would ever find them and the legend would remain lost forever, forgotten by all but a few."

I weighed them in my hand, gazing down at them. "We could… but I don't think it's right we should. This deserves to be used for a proper purpose, a good one for good deeds, not just gathering dust in the earth."

"I suppose… if anyone can, you will." She sighed and looked out across the crypt. "It would certainly feel like a wasted effort if we didn't finish this."

"There's that too and besides," I added with a smile, "what fun would it be if we just turned back and gave up?"

"There's that strange sense of fun of yours again," she giggled.

"You know it."

"Come on then, let's reform this amulet and go home."

Stepping down into the mist, we crossed over to the final set of stairs and climbed up them to the altar, where a strange golden mist was rising up from the floor before it. I could feel a tingling on the back of my hands and neck from the strong sense of magic there was here. I stood before the altar and held the fragments in my hands. This was it. After all of these years, even after being stricken from all of history, the legend would finally become truth.

Gently, I put the first fragment on a panel. I jumped as and Brelyna gasped, with a hiss like a snake, it began to glow in a golden light, like the mist that came from the floor. I exchanged another look at with her, before I placed the next fragment on the second plinth, receiving the same reaction. The final one had the same effect, this time accompanied with a sudden, foreboding rumbling in the walls, enough to make us stumble and fall. There was a sudden metal clang and we whipped our heads to see the gate had shut, sealing us.

"Well, no turning back now," remarked Brelyna.

"Not unless you want to try banging your head against it."

"Somehow, I don't think that will work." She turned around and I saw her eyes widen. "Sauron, look!"

When we got back to our feet, I looked up at her indication and saw we were no longer alone in the crypt.

Hovering before the coffin of their father, their arms folded and leering at us with contempt and derision were the three Gauldersons. Mirkul, Sigdis and Jyrick, in the flesh. In a manner of speaking anyway, for they weren't solid but the glowing, transparent forms of spirits. I knew, however, that wouldn't make them any less dangerous. They looked like they wanted a fight, like they were protecting their individual fragments. This was confirmed when one stood forward, drew his sword and vanished in a flash of purple light.

As he reappeared on the other side of the room, I heard the sounds of coffin lids being kicked open and slamming to the floor. The draugr within them stepped out, drawing bows, clutching axes and swords and ready to defend their master.

"That'll be Mirkul then," Brelyna realised, recalling his fighting style back in Folgunther. "No Tash'arr to save us this time if it gets too much."

"It won't be too much. Well, for us anyway," I remarked, stepping down with her to face our foes. "Together then?"

"Together," she affirmed, flaring her hands and summoning an atronach.

Echoing this move, I raised my own and flared off two firebolts at the thralls, hitting both my targets and that was it. We were locked in and fighting for our lives. This time, I made sure to vary my attacks, using both my arcane powers and my knife, shoving it into the throats or stomachs of any draugr thrall that dared get too close. My strategy was simple: to wear down the thralls as best we could, then charge in and finish off Mirkul before he could carry out any attacks of his own. Spirit or not, he was the weakest of the brothers and would fall soon once left exposed.

Brelyna too made sure to vary her attacks. Now that her atronach was laying waste to the draugr, she resorted to her bow, stringing arrows and firing them at targets the atronach couldn't attack. While she wasn't as good as Tash'arr, she still managed to hit most of her targets and bring them down, with one successful shot through the eye of one of them, the force of which sent him flying back into another's throat and killing them both. She would also use the arrow itself as a blade, stabbing draugr that were too close to shoot and kicking them back, under some protection from her Oakflesh spell from most attacks. As gentle as she was, she still certainly a fierce fighter.

We worked in harmony with each other, each watching the others back and making the best of our unique abilities to fight through the thralls. One particular move was when I saw one raising a sword behind Brelyna to bring it down on her head. I motioned for her to duck and, as she did, I whipped out my knife and stabbed him under the arm. As his weapon dropped and left him exposed, I sent one final stab through his throat and put him down for good. When I turned around, I saw her dealing out a Flames attack to another thrall that was getting rather close for comfort, roasting and burning his body. I smiled my thanks, which she returned, before resuming the fight.

Soon, the ground was littered with the bodies of thralls with many more coming, with Mirkul still tentatively hanging back and watching and I decided that enough was enough.

"Brelyna, now!" I turned to face him and cried: "FUS-RO-DAH!"

The shout sent all the thralls before me flying back and Mirkul stumbling, giving me a clear path right to him. I sprinted towards him, preparing a charged-up firebolt. The Gaulderson, seeing the danger, tried to bring up his blade but an arrow prevented him from completing his attack. He was completely exposed by the time I reached him, sending the spell right into his chest, followed by two weaker ones. He knelt to the ground from the impact and I followed up with a Flames spell to finish him off, using what was left of my magicka. He barely had time to scream before he vanished again.

When the sound came again, I turned to see that he had returned to the altar, now kneeling in a position of surrender beside the spirits of his brothers. The remaining thralls, who were still standing, now keeled over and became lifeless corpses once more, the influence of their master gone. One down, two to go.

"Well done Brelyna, nice shot!" I called out to her, handing her a potion of magicka to replenish our strength.

"Thank you, nice work finishing him." She looked back at the altar, the next brother standing ready. "It's not over yet though."

"Yes, but with us working together, they might as well give up now."

"We are quite good, aren't we?" She smiled but quickly became serious again. "Either way, we shouldn't let our guards down y- AGGGH!"

The last part was a scream as, to my horror, she was consumed by the same purple light the brothers were using to transport themselves. When the light was gone, so was she, leaving no trace that she had ever been there.

Gone.

"Brelyna? Brelyna! BRELYNA!" I called out desperately, suddenly terrified, not for myself, but for her. I turned and roared up at the Gauldersons, "What have you done to her, you bastards?! WHERE IS SHE?!"

The next brother only laughed a dead, hollow sound and vanished in the same flash of light as I threw a firebolt at him in rage. This wasn't meant to happen, she was supposed to be safe with me, fighting by my side… and they'd taken her from me. I was so caught up in my anger and my fear, I didn't have time to react as I was forced to the ground by multiple shouts, followed by a series of arrows that only just missed me. One scraped past my cheek, leaving a burning pain and a cut.

I looked to see that there were multiple spirits, but only one with the horns on his helmet facing downwards, the others all pointed skyward. They vanished again before I could attack, giving me time to prepare myself for the next attack. Now that I knew it was Sigdis, I wanted nothing more than to make him pay for what he had done, for leaving me all alone without. Spirit or not, I was going to make him pay, I decided and flared up my hands to ready a pair of firebolts.

"Come on Sigdis!" I shouted, my voice echoing off the walls. "Bring… it… ON!"

Never before had my anger burned so brightly within me and it only heightened when Sigdis and his clones reappeared, with drawn bows and livid expressions. With a loud cry of rage, I hurled my magic at them, not caring if they were copy or not. My aim was off, but I was still able to bring down the three fake ones and felt an angry pleasure when I saw them vanish before my destructive capabilities. I saw Sigdis, raising his bow to fire and knew what I wanted to do to him. I wanted this to be personal. I pulled out my knife and charged at him, ready to sink it into his ghostly flesh and hear his scream of-.

"ARGH!" He fired before I could reach him, making me stumble from the shot of pain as the arrow hit my arm.

By the time I pulled myself to my feet, he had vanished again and I screamed in frustration. With a grunting and a loud yell, as well as the burning fire of pain, I yanked the arrow out of my flesh, not caring for the blood that was no trickling slowly down my arm. Where was that coward hiding behind his copies? He was going to pay for what he had done to her! For leaving me alone again without her with me!

Suddenly, I was lifted off my feet and soaring through the air. They had already reappeared and I never realised it and their combined shouts were enough to carry me through the air and hit the stone wall with a loud smack. They actually all laughed in unison as I slumped against the wall, my skull burning and throbbing like it was being struck with hammers of a hot forge and my vision blurring like I'd been drinking too much. My thoughts also echoed that as I sent a clumsy firebolt at them, staggering to my feet and falling over again, hearing as the vanished again. I had… to make him… PAY!

I stopped, staggered again. But wait… what was I doing? In that instant, I realised what was happening and did my best to calm my troubled, confused mind. This was what they wanted and I was playing right into their rotted hands. They'd separated me from Brelyna because they knew how strong we were as a team. They'd taken her in a bid to make me weaker… and it was working. I was letting my temper get the better of me and it was making me lose focus, just blind rage and fury without restraint.

I took deep, calming breaths, though I still felt the emptiness of her lack of presence. I cast a healing spell, so my vision cleared and the pain in my head and arm lessened. I couldn't lose focus, I had to remain in control, and I wasn't going to let them get the better of me. I had to do this, like I had done before I met her. Only this time, I was fighting for her and that gave me strength, focus that my anger certainly didn't give.

"Right," I said, addressing the empty air. "You think you can get the best of me by separating me and her? Oh, how wrong can three brothers be?" I allowed fire to come to my hands again. "I'm just getting warmed up."

They reappeared and I targeted the real Sigdis at once. Now that my focus was back, he really stood out from the rest of them now. Before he could fire the arrow he had strung, I was already bombarding him with my own attack, making sure I could dive and jump out of the way of the others attacking me with their own arrows and shouts. I could see him weakening, unable to attack or retreat. I saw him glow as he was going to teleport again.

"Oh no you don't!" I hurled the bolt I had charged right at him. "Catch!"

The spell struck him right on his helm, enough to finish him. Once again, the brother's cry was cut off when he teleported back to the altar, also kneeling in a position of defeat alongside Mirkul. I felt a great sense of achievement at overcoming him once more, which only heightened when, with another purple flash, my lover was returned to me.

"Brelyna!" I dashed up and embraced her. "You're okay…"

"Yes… I think so." She looked up at me, confused. "I just remember darkness, a silence for a few moments, and then I was back here. What happened?"

"I'm not entirely sure myself, but look." I pointed to the altar to indicate the brothers. "Only one left."

"You mean you beat the next one without me? I'm disappointed." She looked up as the final brother, Jyrick, stepped down to fight. "Right, what can he do?"

"Well, if I remember…" I suddenly became aware of a storng tingling in my limbs, a faint purple glow. I realised what was going to happen too late. "Brelyna, I-"

I felt a great force pull on my body, blinding my vision and yanking me off my feet. This only lasted a moment, for soon, all I could see was darkness… and all I could feel was despair for Brelyna, who was now in the same situation as I had been in. I prayed to Azura she would be okay.

It was all I could do…

* * *

"Sauron, no!" I tried to reach out for him as he vanished in a magical light, but there was nothing to reach for.

He was gone and I was alone in the crypt, with nothing but the remaining Gaulderson and the bodies of fallen thralls. I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of despair at my isolation. Was this how it was meant to end for me? Trapped in the dark underground, surrounded by the dead, about to be killed by a long-dead traitor, without even being with man I loved, the only one who understood me. It just wasn't fair…

"I'll finish this," I whispered, hoping he could hear me. "For you, I'll bring this to an end, once and for all."

I whipped around at the sound of the transportation spell and saw my remaining foe appear at the other end of the stairs. As Sigdis and Mirkul had been defeated, I could only assume the final one was Jyrick, as he drew his blade for battle. Again, a sense of worry gripped me. Each of the brothers had a unique battles style and power, but I didn't know Jyrick's, for I hadn't fought him like the other two. What would he try and do?

He stopped a few feet away, his hands glowing with magical light. He growled in the Dragontongue and pointed at a spot before him, that left a decent space between us. Enough for two mages to pit their abilities against each other in a duel. So, that was how he wanted to do it. I took up my position, my own hands glowing with magic and ready to accept his challenge. Sauron or no Sauron, I was still a mage of House Telvanni and I wasn't about to let him beat me without first learning that.

As soon as I stood ready, Jyrick attacked, flinging an ice spike at my head. I swiftly blocked it with ward, countering with a firebolt. This too was blocked by my opponent, who re-countered with another two spikes, both of which I deflected or dodged. I was able to hold my ground well against him, remembering what had been taught to me both by my family and by the College of Winterhold. Don't expend too much energy, conserve as much as you can and look for an opening or gap to exploit.

As a mage of House Telvanni raised in Morrowind, I had been pushed and trained extensively for the day I would have to pit my skills against another mage in combat. I couldn't help but scowl at the thought of the stern expressions of my parents whenever I got the slightest thing wrong. I'd always hated the way they urged me, reminded me of how great my ancestors had been at the arts I now practiced and that I had my family name to uphold. Despite this, I forced myself to remember those extensive training periods, along with advice Sauron had given me: just hurl everything you've got at them and hope for the best. A nice little balance, though I foundmyself preferring the latter advice because it made me smile a little.

I wished he was here, duelling by my side. We'd soon be able to bring him down. Well… I'd just have to do my best by myself, I thought, landing a successful hit on him, hearing him grunt from the blow and feeling elation from the strike. Perhaps this would be over sooner than I thought.

It felt like an age passed as we duelled, with myself remaining on the defensive, searching for any kind of exhaustion or lack of energy in my opponent. However, there didn't seem to be a break in any of Jyrick's defences. I didn't know whether it was because he was a spirit or because he was somehow getting energy from his own fragment of the amulet. Either way, his defence and attack were still just strong as before, even more so from my only hit against him, and he was steadily gaining ground. I would have to go on the offensive, or he would soon reach me and be able to strike with his blade.

Using what energy I could gather, I let down my ward, charged up a firebolt and let it off at him, followed by another to his lower body. Both of them struck their targets, his ward flickered and died, leaving him open for an attack. But I just didn't have the magicka left for a final strike, no matter how much I reached for it and quickly tried to drink a potion to restore it before he could recover. It had barely touched my lips I realised, too late, I'd left myself exposed.

I felt the cold pain as two spikes hit me, once in the chest and once in the leg, making me cry out and fall to the ground. I tried putting pressure on it, but I fell back down again. The cold was piercing and sharp, making getting back up difficult, if not impossible. I raised my head, just in time to see Jyrick charging at me, his expression triumphant and his blade drawn, ready to finish me off. I didn't have time for another spell, I felt desperately with my hand until it gripped a leather handle.

_CLANG!_

The sound of metal on metal echoed around the crypt as I brought up my new weapon. The axe I'd grabbed was strong enough to prevent his sword from hitting me. Our blades locked together, I could feel the shaking in my body from the increasing pressure as I tried my best to prevent him from breaking through my last line of defence. But I simply didn't have the strength nor the training to use a blade in combat and, slowly but surely, he was pushing against me, forcing me to the floor and his own blade closer to my face.

He suddenly twisted the blade and the axe went flying across the room, clanging across the floor. I tried to dive for another, but he pressed his rotting boot hard on my arm, the pain increasing as he applied more pressure. He kicked me sharply in the face, forcing me to look up and face him. He looked like he was mocking me, savouring his victory before the final blow. I'd tried and I'd failed… that would never be enough for them, I thought bitterly. What a failure they'd think I was, how pathetic that I'd lost to him. A shame to the family name…

But no. I didn't think like that anymore, not since I met Sauron. He'd shown me so much more, believed in me far more than my parents ever did. With him, I'd faced draugr, Falmer, trolls, Thalmor, even dragons. Against all of them, I had prevailed using only my own skills and talents, not whatever powers my ancestors had once possessed. Those thoughts gave me new strength. I was no ordinary Dunmer. I was Brelyna Maryon of House Telvanni, student of Winterhold, companion of Sauron and I was not going to lose. Not today!

"You forget one thing, Jyrick," I said defiantly, summoning the little bit of magicka she'd gained from that potion for one final spell, "I don't just use destruction magic. I was always better at conjuration!"

At this, I called out with my powers to the world of the spirits, summoning one to aid me in battle. I heard a loud growl as a large, blue form tackled the Gaulderson and pinned him to the floor. Though the ice had melted, I could still feel some pain in my joints, as I pushed myself to my feet and drained a potion, restoring my energy significantly. By the time Jyrick beat the familiar I'd sent at him, I was already striding over with my hands ready for another attack.

"My turn," I hissed, blasting a spell at him, which he hurriedly blocked.

His wards were far weaker now and I soon penetrated his defences and the flames began to burn his ghostly body, every step equalling another attack. As I strode up to him, I bent and grabbed another discarded weapon, another axe. I reached him, raised it before he could bring up his own and brought down on his head, feeling a personal kind of satisfaction from the up-close attack. He gurgled in his throat, the blade lodged in his skull and vanished once more.

Defeated by Brelyna Maryon. Alone. Now _that _was impressive.

"Brelyna!" I felt a strong relief and happiness when I whirled around, opening my arms to receive Sauron. "You did it! You did it!"

"I did!" I could barely control my smile as I looked up into his boyish face. "That's why you don't cross House Telvanni!"

"You are more than worthy of the name!" He beamed at me, though it faltered when he looked at the altar. "Oh dear, they don't look happy, do they?"

I looked to see the brothers were now all stepping forward, drawing their weapons and looking absolutely furious.

"Not now we've humiliated and defeated them, no," I deadpanned grimly, worried we wouldn't be able to take on all three of them at once.

"Aw, but that's what I do best." He flashed me another grin. "But still, we go down kicking and screaming to the last?"

"All the way." I gave his hand a firm grip before standing, ready for the final round. This was going to be tough…

Suddenly, the coffin behind them was forced open, the lid slamming to the floor. The brothers whirled around and stepped back, the closest approximation of terror in their stances. This only lasted a moment when, with a blinding flash of gold light, they were consumed and banished from this world to the one beyond. I hoped they would pay dearly for the crimes they had committed, both to their father and their home. And speaking of their father…

The ghost of an old mage now stood before the altar, his white beard sparkling in the light, his robes long and flowing. Arch-Mage Gaulder, after all of these years. He looked over us both and nodded slowly, before spreading his hands out and moving them in a circle. The golden light that surrounded the fragments glowed brighter and they flew up off their pedestals, whirling and spinning until they met in the centre. Suspended in the light on the altar, floating mysteriously, was the completed amulet. Whole once more.

The mage nodded again and, though he said no words, his message was clear: use it wisely. I tried to convey that to him, before he waved his hands again and disappeared, finally to rest in peace now that justice had been done. I just stared up at the spot where he had been, utterly transfixed. Silence hung thick in the air in the aftermath of his departure until…

"Well, that was slightly melodramatic," remarked Sauron.

Despite myself, I couldn't help but laugh at his remark. Some things never changed and I hoped he never would.

* * *

Almost done, just the epilogue now!


	7. Onwards!

**Onwards!**

I felt an incredible sense of elation and satisfaction at finally finishing our quest to repair the Gaulder amulet. It didn't just come from the completed amulet itself, but I also felt like we'd done something greater, in finally putting to rest the events begun by the Gaulderson brothers all of those years ago, events that everyone else just wanted to cover up and hope would never be found again. But we had proved them wrong, now their vengeful spirits were banished for good and their father could get some well-earned rest, as could we.

"They tried to separate us to make us weaker," she realised next to me, staring at the place where the brothers had been. "Isolating us one-by-one in hopes of beating us."

"Indeed," I nodded. "But, of course, it didn't work."

"Why do you think so?"

I thought for a moment before answering. "I think it's because we fought with a lot more than magic and swords. We had something they never did, that they never can have."

"What's that?" I only turned to her, giving her small smile in response. She returned it and kissed my cheek when she realised what I meant. "You can be so sweet sometimes… though that was rather cheesy."

"Cheesy is good, great with a slice of bread and a slice of life," I countered.

"I suppose." I beamed at her and gave her another hug.

I was more proud of Brelyna than I had ever been. I admittedly had been worried about her when the Gauldersons used their powers to separate me from her and I didn't think, at first, that she'd be able to beat Jyrick. But she'd done it, with her own strength and her own abilities, proving that I needed to have a lot more faith in my travelling companion. Truly a daughter of the House of Telvanni through and through.

"Now… to claim our prize." I led her up the steps and stopped before the altar.

"It's… beautiful," she whispered in awe.

"Yes, I suppose it is. Nowhere near as beautiful as you though," I added, making her smile.

I turned back to the altar, staring into the light that shone from it. Suspended in the golden light, fully completed and whole for the first time in years, was the amulet of Gaulder, the one that had given him his unique powers and that his sons so desired after. They had used the pieces of the amulet to spread havoc and destruction across Skyrim before they were stopped. Now, it was time to use it for better purposes.

I reached out into the light, feeling the tingling up my arm and took it, the light fading as soon as I did. I could feel the power that it held hum in my hand, images flashing in my mind of me using its power for a multitude of deeds and battles, all for protecting those who couldn't protect themselves. It would make me more powerful than I had ever been and would really give me an edge against the dragons. Grinning, I lifted it up and was about to put it around my neck when I thought to myself, just for a moment:

Do I really need it?

There were many more magical artefacts in this land, still waiting to be discovered and I already had great power as the Dragonborn, which I still had to unlock with more training. In addition, I already had both the circlet and the amulet of Savos Aren on my head and neck respectively, which provided me with added magical abilities already. Did I really need this amulet too, when I already had so much power and… what if I ended up misusing it, becoming drunk on the power I already had? I always tried to do the right thing but what if I did something wrong by accident?

I turned around and looked to Brelyna, who was watching me expectantly and couldn't help but smile. We were both powerful mages in our own right, even more so with more experience, artefacts and training that we had yet to discover. Yet she had defeated Jyrick, alone, without knowing his powers like she had the other two. That was truly an admirable feat, but what if something like this happened again and she needed something more, something that would help her and I'd never given it to her when I could have?

I considered it further, but nothing else changed it. My mind was made up and I knew what to do.

She must have sensed my indecision and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, take it and put it on. It's in good hands now, I know it."

"It will be." She appeared confused at my statement, which lifted when I presented it to her. "Here…"

"Sauron… I… I…" Her voice was low, disbelieving, her eyes wide and shocked. "You… want me to have it?"

"That's sort of what I'm saying by giving it to you, yes."

"But I… shouldn't you have it?" she asked unsurely. "I mean, you're the Dragonborn. You need all the power you can get."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you saying I'm bad at being the Dragonborn?"

"No, no! No, of course not," she said quickly. "It's just that… you know, you need to fight Alduin and his dragons. Wouldn't you want the power it can offer?"

"So glad that you considered me in this."

"I do my best to remember you, dearest."

"I have power," I told her, "abilities and spells I have yet to be taught or to discover. Besides, I already have this circlet and amulet, plus the staff of Magnus and that Dragonpreist mask back at the College. I have all the power I could have and much more still to come, if I do it right."

"But… what would I do with it?" she asked, still unsure about taking it.

"Anything you like." I held it up to her, so she could see. "This could be a big increase for your own abilities. You'd be able to cast more powerful spells, run longer without getting tired and be stronger physically too. But with all of that, no matter what you do with it, I ask only that you remember to do one thing."

"What's that?"

"The right thing." I smiled again and held it closer to her, letting it dangle in my hands and waiting for her decision.

She stared at it for a little while longer, no doubt considering it heaviliy in her mind. Looking at me again, she asked, "Are you sure… you think I should have it?"

"I don't think so, I know so. There's no-one I'd trust more with this artefact than you, my love," I said confidently.

Her face glowed at this and she returned my smile. "In that case, for you…" Her hand reached out slowly and I let it fall into her open palm. "I'll make good use of this, I promise."

"I have no doubt you will," I said. "Go on, let's see how it looks on you."

Still moving slowly, she rose up the amulet and slipped it around her neck, letting it dangle gently from side-to-side. There was a brief flash of light from it, like it was acknowledging its new wielder and I heard Brelyna gasp before the light faded again. She stared down at it and flexed her hands outwards, a smile still on her features.

"I can feel it already. This is… incredible!" She flared up two firebolts in her hand and let them off at the wall. "That barely even diminished me! This really is remarkable!"

"Well, it had better be, considering what we just went through to get it."

She laughed and flung her arms around my neck. "Thank you Sauron, for this special gift. I won't misuse it, I swear with all my soul, I'll use it for the right reasons always."

"I had no doubts you would." I let my expression become serious. "Just don't shout about it and be careful how you use it, or others might catch on and try to take it for themselves."

"Of course. After what happened to Gaulder, I wasn't exactly going to go parading it around. I'll do my best to keep it secret and safe."

"You always were the more sensible out of the two of us," I remarked. "Now, I think we've lingered here long enough and the smell of rotting flesh is most nauseating."

She coughed and waved her hand in front of her face. "Agreed. Let's get going then."

We proceeded, at a faster pace this time, back out of the tomb. I made sure to bow out of respect to the mage Gaulder and offered a small prayer that he may rest in peace from this day forward, never to be troubled again by the vengeful spirits of his treacherous sons. I also offered my reassurances that his amulet was in good, responsible hands and we would make sure it was put to good use and thanked him for repairing it for us.

I didn't know for sure, but I think he did hear me. As I turned to rejoin Brelyna, I could have sworn, out of the corner of my eye, his spirit was there, just for a moment, nodding in approval. Or maybe I was just seeing things, I had no idea. Sometimes, it was nice not to know for sure.

As we neared the exit, Brelyna planted a kiss on my cheek, making me blush red and grin a little, as I did.

"What was that for?" I asked her, touching the spot.

"Do I need a reason to kiss the man I love?" she returned.

"Probably not," I shrugged, as we bowed our heads and hurried back outside, dripping wet once more, "but it's good to have one ready. Here," I added, drying her off with a spell.

"Thank you," she said sincerely, returning the favour. "It's just that… I'm touched that you'd trust me so much with something so important."

"Of course I would," I beamed, reaching our horses and offering her a hand up. "I'd trust you no matter what, you should know that."

"I know, but it's still nice to know that you would." She placed her hand on the amulet again. "I'll make sure this is used for the right reasons."

"I know. Besides," I added, jumping onto my own horse, "I've already entrusted you with something equally as inpornat, perhaps even more so."

"What's that?" I only responded by placing my hand on my chest, making her laugh and smile. "You are being so cheesy today!"

"Why not? What's stopping me, apart from your obvious disapproval?"

"I never said I disapporoved," she corrected, spurring her steed to move alongside mine. "Where to now then?"

"Well, I don't know about you, but I think we've done enough questing for a while." I turned my head in the direction where I knew Whiterun was. "I feel like spending a bit of time at home…"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," agreed Brelyna. "So, to Whiterun then?"

"To Whiterun! But first, I think we need to stop at the village of Rorikstead. We need to replenish some of our supplies and we might be able to get it there," I explained.

"That seems sensible and safe, quite unlike you."

"I like a bit of variation, if nothing else," I said in response. "Besides, Rorikstead is small and out of the way comparatively to other places. It should be perfectly safe."

"Should be?"

"Well, you can never be completely sure, can you?" I let her see my best grin. "But that's the best part, that you never know what's over the next horizon. Such as… oh, I don't know-"

"KILL THEM! FOR THE REACH!" a fierce voice cried, making us both look down the road, to see a trio of men and women, dressed in some of the most ridiculous clothing I had ever seen, charging down the road to meet us in battle.

"I take it those are some of the Forsworn?" I asked my companion.

"I'd say that's about right," she replied warily.

"Do they know how silly they look in those furs?"

"Either they know, or they don't care."

"Just when you think it's all over… I suppose Rorikstead can wait." I sighed, unfastened myself and leaped off Arthur, pulling out my dagger and lighting up my hands. "Right, let's get this over with."

"You're not all that worried, are you?" asked Brelyna, jumping off her own horse to join me by my side.

"Not really, no," I answered, looking at her. "After all, I'm with you."

"Funny, I was just thinking the same thing." The amulet shone around her neck, as she summoned an atronach and pulled out her bow. "Alone from the rest…"

"… together, the best…"

"… no contest," we finished together, as I let off my first firebolt and launched myself into battle, Brelyna Maryon at my side.

As it should be.

* * *

Another adventure of our light-hearted Dragonborn brought to a close. Again, my sincerest apologies for not having finished this sooner, but I had a blast writing for Sauron and Brelyna again. I'm glad those of you who stayed enjoyed what I had to offer.

Now, once again, I'm going to leave Skyrim alone for a bit. I've got another story put on hold so I could finish this one and they will tear my head off if I don't get back to it. I'll probably end up doing another short story at one point, so if there's any quests you'd like to see Sauron and Brelyna do, don't hesitate to PM me with an idea. I'm thinking of doing a short Christmas special for them, but we'll wait and see.

Fair well for now, my fellow adventurers and writers and may your swords stay sharp!


End file.
